The Lost Prophecy
by Stratoc
Summary: Mila has just graduated from the prestigious Guardian Academy. Soon, she sets out on her first mission to capture a wanted rebel. She had no idea that on that fateful day, she would be flung into an adventure beyond all imagining. Rated T violence/death
1. Chapter 1

A/N DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN SKYLAND!

_This is my first ever Fanfiction story. In fact, I was unaware of Fanfiction's existence until a few months ago... No, I don't live under a rock. :) I just hadn't heard about it. Strangely enough, the whole idea for this story came to me some time ago, before I even knew about fanfiction - I guess I never forgot about Skyland._

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><p>Mila stood in the corridor behind the auditorium, wringing her hands nervously. Today was Graduation day and twenty or so of the students from the Sphere Guardian Academy were going to be presented with their future careers. The seijin girl bit her lip and readjusted her form-fitting grey uniform for what should have been the millionth time; she had to look presentable. Mila was a slender girl with dark hair and cobalt blue eyes. Her black hair was pulled back into a loose braid and a few stray strands floated down the side of her face despite her best efforts to keep them in place.<p>

Mila looked around at the other students waiting in the cramped hallway; a group of rowdy boys were all talking loudly; some giggly girls stood aside, watching the boys and gossiping between themselves. That was the popular crowd. She was part of it but… she just didn't feel very happy or excited right now. She was downright anxious.

Other students however, were discreet or silent. The twin sisters, Gwen and Cleo, were sitting against the wall, whispering urgently to each other. Barry, a robust and silent young man, was standing alone, staring at the wall with an intense glare as if it was responsible for the fact that they would soon be ushered onto stage. And then there was Katie; poor, worried girl. She was unsuccessfully trying to hide the occasional tears running down her cheeks. She was always so emotional; no one understood it. What was there to be sad about? She was going to be a guardian! The highest of honors.

Ryan, one of the loud boys, nudged Mila's arm. "You coming with us tonight or what?"

Mila stared at him. "What? Oh yes, whatever…" She answered absent mindedly. Ryan frowned briefly and went to join his friends again. Mila sighed restlessly and smoothed down her hair for the umpteenth time.

"It'll be fine." A voice told her.

Mila looked down at the pale, skinny boy beside her. He had wispy blond hair, grey eyes and stood shorter than her. She smiled.

"How do you know Olli?"

The boy kept a firm gaze ahead, waiting for the Sphere official to come out of the metallic door and usher them onto stage. His eyes shone with fierce determination. "Because, we're going to rule the world remember?" He muttered and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips. Mila elbowed him playfully and they both laughed.

"This _freak_ giving you a hard time Mila…" It was Ryan again, with his goons standing behind him. A smile stretched on his handsome, dark face as he looked down at Oslo.

"Ryan…" Mila sighed tiredly. How many times did she have to tell him to leave her friend alone?

Ryan stood forwards and jabbed Oslo in the chest, making the smaller boy stagger backwards.

"Ryan, stop it!" Mila exclaimed as Oslo's hands flickered blue; this was no time for a fight. These boys had bullied Oslo too many times for her liking and it was falling on her last nerve.

"Come on Mila, you seriously defending this loser?" Mila's face burned up and she grabbed Ryan's arm and led him to the side.

"You tell them to leave him alone or we're over, do you understand?"

Ryan frowned, his thick eyebrows lowered and his dark eyes glinted. "What the hell is wrong with you, ever since you've started hanging out with that-"

"Be quiet. Listen, I don't want our last day at the Academy to be like this. Everyone deserves to have a perfect graduation ceremony, they've worked hard enough."

"All right fine, whatever..." He took her wrist and pulled her close. "We're going to have fun tonight alright? Don't worry about it…" He looked over at the boys and nodded; they walked away from Oslo. Ryan leaned in towards her but she pried off his arms and pushed him away angrily; it was considered improper for guardians to interact this way in public. It was rather undignified and insulting.

"Sorry about that…" Mila told Oslo, raising her voice to indicate her frustration towards the boys.

Oslo watched Ryan glare at him briefly and join his friends again as he dusted off. "Doesn't matter. They'll pay one day." He answered darkly.

Mila disregarded the comment and brushed some dirt off his cheek. "There. All neat and ready." She said brightly.

Just then, the door opened with a hiss and a woman came out; immediate silence fell. The students scrambled to take their positions and soon, they were all standing in their usual straight line.

"It's time." She stated and smiled fleetingly. "Congratulations students."

A few whoops of happiness escaped the class and the woman lifted her hands for silence. She reminded the students of the expected demeanor on stage and of the routine that was to be strictly carried out into the ceremony. Mila was too nervous to listen; the official's voice sounded like it was a million miles away...

Within a few minutes, the students were all waiting in the darkness behind the velvety black curtains of the auditorium. One by one, their names were called out and the line would shorten. Applauds echoed on the high ceiling as the names continued... The students were being called in order of age; not that there was much age difference in the class; one year's difference was the limit. Mila watched the individual students file off through the silken drapes and disappear; she swallowed fearfully.

Soon it was Oslo's turn. He tensed and nodded sternly forwards as if urging himself to go and walked off to stage briskly. He vanished. When Mila heard her name reverberate, she stood in shock, her legs glued to the floor. The tall boy standing behind her gave her a gentle nudge. "Go." He whispered.

And she did; Mila strode onto stage, a confident smile plastered on her face.

The blinding light thankfully hid the crowd from view as she shook the Academy director's hand and accepted a wrapped gift package containing her new uniform. The director was a tall, muscled man in his late thirties; his squinting, blue eyes always gave him such an intimidating allure. Today however, he had the slightest hint of a smile on his thin lips, which Mila couldn't help being relieved about. She then shook another faceless dignitary's hand and accepted a rolled up piece of parchment; her degree. She smiled to the crowd and waved briefly before finding her pre-registered seat on stage next to Oslo.

From her sitting position, she had a clear view of the auditorium which had a high arched ceiling dotted with circular, white lights. The floor of the gleaming, black stage seemed to disappear into the blinding glare of the spotlights that bore down onto the seated graduates, making it semi-impossible to see anything of the audience except blurry, shifting shadows. Judging by the noise emanating for the auditorium, she could guess that the entire school had been assembled to watch the graduation, as was customary.

Finally, when everybody had been called out and seated, there was a series of long formal speeches from several Sphere dignitaries which were rather dull and monotonous. Mila could catch whispers and mutterings emanating from the restless crowd.

Afterwards, the usual sternness reapplied to the ceremony as the director stood behind the metallic, black podium; the whisperings ceased at once. He thanked the dignitaries and proceeded.

"Dear guests, students and graduates, it is time for the handing of the tasks…"

Mila tensed again, she had almost forgotten about this part. They would now hand out the jobs to the graduates. The best professions were on the city blocks of course, where guardians had next to nothing to do all day but lounge next to the artificial beaches and go on shopping sprees. She could remember the years when her younger self had been part of that audience; she could still remember feeling awed, watching all those lucky graduates file off across the stage. The fact that she was actually graduating hadn't actually sunk in yet; it just seemed so _unreal_.

But it was going to happen; the future was colliding with the present. She could only hope that everything would turn out fine… There were jobs where graduates were assigned to fly around in ships all day to _scan_ areas. Those were the worst rankings of course; being limited to the confines of a small sphere patroller for countless hours each and every day, without any real action or excitement. The less talented seijin students were usually assigned these careers. After all, seijins were not all equally skilled. Some lacked potential and some, such as herself, were simply remarkable. Mila acknowledged and accepted this truth; she could only hope that the officials had actually remarked her exceptional skills and that she would be rewarded for her talents.

The students were now going to be called by age, their surnames were hardly ever mentioned. Some students still knew theirs but Mila had no remembrance of having a last name...

"Cleo." The name shook her from her thoughts as a girl walked forward, casting a nervous look in her twin sister's direction. "Assigned to squadron thirty-seven." Not too bad, Mila thought. Cleo nodded happily and smiled as a badge was fixed to her shirt.

Mila applauded with the crowd as Cleo took her seat and her twin sister Gwen walked towards the podium. That girl was a gifted student, Mila thought, as she watched Cleo settle back into her seat. But Mila also considered that she had superior powers.

Once again, the names filed out in a painfully slow manner. Oslo was assigned to Squadron two which was an extremely high ranking considering that the highest possible rank was one. Mila applauded cheerfully. She wasn't cheerful at all really, it was all a façade. The waiting was nearly unbearable...

Mila was called forwards after an agonizing few minutes. This time, she didn't hesitate when she heard her name. Trying not to think about the fact that her entire future linked to this moment suspended in time, she arrived next to the podium and stood stock still, taking the habitual straight position. Arching her back as vertical as was possible. She would be proud with whatever career she was assigned. Proud to be part of the Sphere.

"Assigned to squadron one." Mila gaped for a moment as the words formed into meaning.

Squadron one! _Squadron one_! She would work with the best guardians. Even maybe the Commander herself! There was no higher ranking for a new graduate and this meant that Mila was evaluated as one of the most promising students of the Academy.

The crowd roared with applause and Mila beamed with joy as the little golden pin with her squadron number was fixed to her shirt. She walked back to her seat as if in a dream and sat down.

Squadron one.

It was a busy job but she would manage.

Since Oslo had been assigned to squadron two, then it probably meant that they would get to work together. Mila kicked his foot as she sat back down. "We'll be working together!" She whispered excitingly.

"Yes, I suppose." He answered darkly. Mila's smile faded a little.

The ceremony continued... Others weren't as lucky however; as it turned out, Gwen hadn't followed her sister in the rankings. She was going in the patroller unit to scan the skies for unidentified blocks. Poor Gwen, the job was so lame. The girl had walked back to her seat, her hand brushing against the metallic pin on her shirt; the disappointment on her face had been evident.

A few girls preceded Mila, including Priscilla. Mila found Priscilla's girly personality irritating, especially because of the fact that they shared the same dorm room. "Assigned to squadron 23." Priscilla shrieked with happiness and Mila sighed with relief. She'd probably never see this girl again after departing the Academy. Good.

Oslo looked unhappy; Mila knew not what was wrong with him. She shrugged and straightened up as new graduates were called, applauding with actual happiness this time to encourage them.

Name after name after name…

After the relief of finding out her new job, Mila found that time was travelling rather quickly now. She barely had time to register who had received which ranking when the director returned to the podium. This typically meant that the ceremony was coming to an end.

But something was wrong. Mila caught whisperings in the air. It seemed one person hadn't been assigned a task yet. Katie. The girl should have gone right before Ryan in the age order. Mila hadn't noticed until now. She'd been too preoccupied with herself.

The audience had noticed that something was wrong too, because people murmured and pointed towards the stage.

"Congratulations to all the graduates and best of luck with their new careers…"

Mila peered at Katie, who was pale-faced, sitting up straight and grasping the chair as if she was going to faint, her finger nails digging into the wood.

"However, it seems that we have an unexpected announcement to make considering one of our graduates." The director turned around and motioned to Katie. "Miss Greenwood, please step forward." The fact that he used her surname was unnerving. It was insulting for one to be reminded of their last name; it was considered an obstacle of sorts, something that limited someone's loyalty towards the Sphere.

Katie eyed her colleagues nervously, as if asking for some form of support. People averted their eyes. This never happened during ceremonies; something was terribly wrong.

Katie shuffled over and stood next to the director. "Yes?" She asked.

The man barely glanced at the girl, as if he hadn't even noticed her presence. "Miss Greenwood is a very promising student to the Academy…" He said. Katie jerked her head with surprise. "The guardians who found her knew this when they saved her from the rebellious family she was living with. It seems that we have made the right choice." The crowd applauded and Katie looked flustered.

"Her family has since been involved with the rebellion." Katie gasped in surprise and looked at the director. "Coincidently, we have your rebellious brother here today at the ceremony." He stated happily.

There was a shuffling sound as two brigadiers dragged a struggling boy onto stage. He couldn't have been older than sixteen; he had red hair and a freckled face. His wrists were cuffed behind his back and he was gagged. The robots forced him to his knees and Katie gaped with terror.

"Andy." She breathed.

Blood seeped through his shirt in numerous places and he had a swollen, black eye. Their eyes met with intensity and Katie shook her head. "Why?" She whispered to him.

"It seems the boy tried to come _rescue_ his sister with a couple of rebel pals." The sphere official pursued.

Laughter echoed in the auditorium. Mila didn't laugh though; she couldn't help feeling sorry for these two who were being humiliated in front of everyone.

"He joined the rebellion. He isn't a seijin." He spat out with disgust as he eyed the boy. "Can't choose your family now can you?" Some spectators and graduates laughed. Oslo nodded with approval. Mila was shocked; it seemed she was alone in thinking that this wasn't amusing.

Mila looked back forwards; Katie rushed to Andy's side only to be pushed back when the brigadiers lifted their guns threateningly.

"Today is your chance to prove your loyalty to the Sphere Miss Greenwood." He said. "Kill him."

Katie walked backwards and shook her head with disbelief. Tears streamed down the boy's face. Mila couldn't believe this. Sure they had been trained to kill but none of the students had actually killed a human before. They had practiced on birds and dogs but this… This was horrible. How could they put her on the spot like this?

"Kill him." He repeated slowly.

"No." She murmured.

"Excuse me?"

"NO! I won't. He's my little brother, please I can't…" The whole auditorium fell silent and Mila could imagine people leaning forwards with anticipation.

"I you don't kill him, you won't graduate."

"I don't care! I won't do it." A simultaneous gasp escaped the audience and Katie cried with frustration.

Silence fell. Mila saw the director discretely press a button under the podium and two brigadiers materialized out of the shadows and grabbed Katie. She shrieked and struggled.

The man nodded to the brigadiers holding the pirate; one of the robots stood in front of him and lifted his gun.

"No! Give him a chance, please!" Katie screamed.

But it was already too late; there was a flash of bright light, a loud cracking noise reverberated in the auditorium. The boy slumped to the ground; dead. A pool of blood grew underneath him as he stared blindly at the ceiling.

"Andy! Andy!" Katie screamed frantically. Then she did something no one had expected, she blew the brigs away with a seijin energy wave and ran to her brother's side. The graduates fidgeted in their seats and a few screams rebounded through the hall.

Katie cowered over the dead body, sobbing hysterically. "No, no…"

"Take her away!" The director ordered to the graduates in general. Two volunteer boys stood forwards and dragged her roughly away from the corpse, her hands still tinged with her brother's blood. They pulled her back stage and out of sight until no one could hear her shouts and cries anymore. The remaining brigadier pulled the boy off stage in the other direction, leaving only a trail of blood as evidence.

The director repositioned his tie and faced the crowd once again, as if nothing had happened. As if smoldering brigadier parts were not scattered all over the floor.

"What a waste." He commented.

Mila had the strangest feeling that he wasn't talking about the boy. She felt sick to her stomach and the world seemed to be spinning out of focus.

"Mila?" Oslo asked. She waved him off impatiently.

"Let this all remind us that the rebels with fall and those who are unworthy of the Sphere will be punished." He finished his speech and congratulated the students once again before the curtains closed. He left without another word, carefully stepping around the pool of blood.

The students seemed somewhat perturbed by the death, but were either too happy about their graduation or too self-absorbed to pay it any more attention. While the graduates rushed out, some glancing backward to give the blood smeared floor a last glimpse, Mila sat there, clutching her degree and staring into the air. They had just killed someone and she had done nothing. Somehow she felt guilty and responsible. But she shouldn't.

"Mila, are you coming or what?" Ryan helped her to her feet and she walked dreamily along with her friends, leaving Oslo behind.

As the graduates walked outside, they merged with the crowd from the audience that was pouring out of the gathering hall. A group of ten year olds, undoubtedly in their first years of Academy training, passed them. "Best. Assembly. Ever." One of the little boys exclaimed to his friend, his eyes wide with enthusiasm. "Did you see that?" He punched the air with his skinny arms, mimicking a brigadier no doubt. His friend laughed. They ran off, arguing about who was going to be team captain at the basket ball court. It was a holiday for everyone today so the children were taking advantage of their rare free time to go play.

Mila kept walking, tuning out her talking friends. She watched the children run off around the corner of a gleaming pavilion and disappear. They were too young to see such things. Mila was disgusted that the director had let them sit through the ceremony.

Mila split up from her other friends and followed Priscilla, who was her roommate.

"See you later!" Priscilla shouted at the others in her lofty, sing-song voice. She tugged on Mila's sleeve as she rushed down the neatly paved street, chattering excitedly about make-up, nail polish and other useless things for the after-graduation party. Mila didn't pay attention, a feeling of cold, terrible guilt was spreading through her. She felt numb at the moment. Unable to take in the happiness that she alone seemed unable to feel.

Priscilla led her away, towards their dorm room.

Out through the courtyard.

Across the bridge.

Towards the highest, glistening building of the Academy block.

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><p><em>AN So with this chapter I wanted to show what triggers Mila's dislike for the Sphere. It's a little violent but I wanted it to be realistic. I tried to create a sort of Sphere ranking system which I hope is acceptable..._

-Leave a review/Laissez un commentaire -


	2. Chapter 2

A/N I DON'T OWN SKYLAND!

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><p>Loud music pounded on the dance floor where students rejoiced and partied. This nightclub had been reserved to celebrate the graduation, which had taken place earlier this morning, and the young graduates now enjoying the end of their studies at the Guardian Academy. It was not permitted really, for the graduates to have a party. It was actually supposed to be a secret affair, but everyone knew about it. Teachers just chose to disregard it. They were young after all, and they deserved to celebrate, even if that meant that they looked somewhat improper for one night. At the moment, the young seijins were all dancing and laughing under the shifting multicolored lights that split the air. Mila wasn't dancing however; she sat glumly at the bar, sipping her drink half heartedly.<p>

"This is my song!" She heard Ryan yell and he started dancing ridiculously, flapping his arms about and making the others laugh. She heard Priscilla's unmistakable giggling laughter and, from the corner of her eye, she could glimpse her friend, her long dark hair silky and flowing as she danced. At any other moment, she would have laughed with the others too. But she felt different. It was as if… As if she didn't even know them anymore.

Not really.

She seemed to be the only one who even had a shred of sympathy for the boy who was killed earlier. The pirate's appearance had shocked her; the rebels, she had imagined as mindless brutes, murderous looking thugs who would kill you as soon as they looked at you. However, that pirate; he had been young; he had looked helpless and lost. The Sphere had been merciless. Somehow, his death had seemed unfair, disrespectful; of course criminals were to be prosecuted but she had envisioned a more humane treatment. His death had been almost... barbaric. She couldn't keep the images from replaying in her mind over and over again. It was sickening.

Feeling a little queasy, she pushed her drink away and rubbed her temples. What was going to happen to Katie? She didn't want to think about it because she had a few guesses; being a guardian herself now.

A guardian in squadron one.

She wouldn't last a day at her new job if one rebel's death affected her so much. She sighed. A few hours ago, she felt like she was on top of the world. Now, everything seemed to be crumbling in her hands. All these years of effort at the Academy; a waste of time.

The thumping music and dancing neon lights gave her a headache. Irritated by her noisy surroundings, Mila got up and headed for the door. She stepped outside and was a few feet away when she heard the door open behind her as the music once again blasted for a few seconds.

"Mila, where are you going?"

Mila turned around to see her friend, Ryan, staring at her curiously, his dark eyes gleaming in the night.

"I'm just a little tired." She answered jadedly. "Think I'll head home…"

"What? Mila, it's our _graduation_. And the fun's just started…" He grabbed her hand. "Come on, you're not going home. Come back inside, have some fun, live a little…"

Mila tore his hand off as he started pulling her back towards the entrance of the nightclub. "I said no." She grumbled angrily before stomping away.

"Oh, don't tell me it's because of Katie!" He yelled after her exasperatingly.

She stopped abruptly and turned around. "Well, maybe it is. And why shouldn't it? They killed her brother!" She snapped her fingers. "Just like that!"

"So what? He was just another rebel, it doesn't matter." He paused, shook his head and gave a small chuckle. "Here's a little reminder for you; we're all going to kill pirates one day."

"I know." She snapped gloomily.

"Then what are you upset about?" He demanded, his voice laden with annoyance.

"I-I don't know..."

He frowned and approached, stopping just a few inches from her. "Watch it. You're a guardian now, you can't second guess anything." A sudden spark of anxiety crossed his dark face. "You know what happens to those who don't follow through-"

Mila crossed her arms angrily. "That's just a myth!" She scolded. There had always been a rumor detailing different guardians who hadn't been strong enough to complete the Sphere's plans. According to legend, the Sphere had brainwashed these guardians to act differently; turned them into new people, with new personalities. Mila didn't believe this for one second. The Sphere would never use seijins to torment other seijins. "And I'm not second-guessing. I'm just-"

"Overreacting?" He said. "As usual…"

A wisp of searing anger flared inside her; she had been hoping for some words of reassurance from her friend. Obviously, she was mistaken.

"Shut up-"

"Look, I'm going back inside to have a little _fun_. If you want to go mope around about some-"

"Fine! Go on then!" She strode away, ignoring the insults he yelled after her before going back inside and slamming the door behind him. Mila walked home to clear her thoughts.

The deserted streets were brightened by ornate light posts projecting blue lighting on the building windows. The place was so neat, so perfect and yet… it wasn't. It was as if the block compensated for its real personality with mounds of flawless structures and stylish street lights.

The girl arrived at a bridge and leaned over the railing to see the artificial canal flowing underneath it. It was silent now, except for the rushing sound of water; a distorted reflection of the moon wavered on the stream. The lights rooted in the rocky riverbed illuminated the schools of multicolored fish swimming about. Mila had stood here many times during the years and watched the vibrant creatures go about their business; she found it soothing.

She groaned angrily, releasing her frustration by picking up a few pebbles and throwing them into the water. The fish grouped up where the rocks had splashed on the water's surface. A yellow one nibbled on the rock, expecting food no doubt before deciding it was no good and swimming under the bridge, followed by the rest of the fish. Mila sighed wearily and moved on, suddenly exhausted from the long, nerve-racking day.

She continued walking across the city area and finally traversed a sturdy bridge that connected to the Academy block. The violet, green and blue haze of Academy buildings erased the stars from the night sky. The Academy shone in the darkness, its many towers and training centers glistening like pristine pearls. No one else was out, seeing as only the senior students were allowed to go out after sunset.

Mila arrived home after about half an hour and took a hot shower before slipping into pajamas and heading to her personal loft. Mila paused only at the window to glance at the tall, spire-shaped building on a nearby block which was half obscured by a hazy, white cloud. That block was where the faculty, teachers and Sphere officials in charge of the Academy resided. The top of the needle-like towering building flashed white-blue for a moment as the large beacon warning approaching ships on its summit swiveled in a slow, circular motion.

Mila shared this dorm with Priscilla who got the lower loft. Both stories gave view out the large two story window looking over the Academy. They also had personal bathrooms and a large kitchen below.

The young guardian dropped onto her soft bed and took a last look at her room. She had always considered this her home; she could barely remember the time when she hadn't lived here since she must have arrived when she was around nine years old. Her past always seemed faded, forgotten; a blur. Mila had learned to love it here at the Academy, even if it was often strict and cold.

She had made great friends; they had created such memories together... She remembered the time when they had sneaked into the cafeteria and stolen two gallons of ice cream. Mila smiled briefly.

Now, everything had changed. Somehow the Academy seemed different now, almost unfamiliar.

Tomorrow, she would leave forever and set course toward the unknown; the future. She'd probably never see this room again, or most of her colleagues for that matter. This thought should have saddened her but it was strangely comforting. It would be a new beginning.

She was the one with the problem obviously. Everyone else had accepted the boy's murder.

Great, she'd just called it murder.

She had to keep it together.

He was nothing, she reminded herself. He wasn't even a seijin. He was a criminal.

Content with this fake reassurance, she fell asleep.

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><p><em>AN This chapter is just to get closure from the Academy. I also meant to illustrate how unaware of water the academy students are; having spent so much time in the comfort of the Sphere where water never runs low which, of course, is contrary for the rest of Skyland. _

_-Leave a review/Laissez un commentaire-_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N I DON'T OWN SKYLAND.

_This chapter is shorter but that's the only way I can properly separate the story._

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><p>"I'm sorry," the old woman said as she stood in front of her house on a rickety wooden front porch, "I just don't have the water."<p>

Mila rolled her eyes. She had heard that excuse about a hundred times already and she had only been two weeks on the job. She stared at the shaky elderly woman with gray hair who remained planted in front of the door to a ramshackle wooden cottage; she still wore dusty pink slippers. She stared apprehensively at the guardian before her. Mila shook her head tiredly; the woman was behind on her water payments. She would unfortunately be forced to arrest her.

The Sphere had started by giving her a few easy tasks for her first weeks of being a guardian, like collecting taxes from those who refused to pay, before she could start real missions. The brittle, yellowed grass crunched under her shoes as Mila shifted her feet; she was standing in the middle of a deserted plateau which featured dried crops and brown potted flowers drooping from the jars on the wooden steps. This had once been a lush agricultural land, she could guess, however, the weather had clearly not been favorable for the people living on this block this year. For this reason, she had been out demanding taxes all morning in the miserable area, getting few results. No, Mila didn't find the supposedly 'small' jobs easy at all.

She had seen _terrible_ things in her limited time traveling around Skyland. People were living in poverty and eating garbage scraps. Children were working like slaves in the fields to make extra money for the family. The worst of it all had been a ten year old boy trying to raise his sister alone on the farm because the father was deathly sick and bed ridden. When she had demanded the water tax he had reluctantly handed her his water bottle.

And she had taken it. It was either that or arrest the poor children. The result; Mila felt horribly guilty. She would never voice her opinion about this however, for that would mean that she was disloyal to the Sphere. No, she would not risk it. She had worked far too hard to throw it away; she was terrified to end up like Katie...

She replaced her anxious thoughts with a suitable alternative; anger. She was tired of hearing excuses! She had heard them all and it was starting to get on her last nerve.

"_Lies_." She snarled, making the woman jump nervously. "Give. Me. The. Water."

"I don't have it." She argued, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkled as she winced.

Mila signaled to her personal brigs and two of them lead the elderly woman away; she instructed them to be gentle with the frail old lady. They'd probably only send her to a retirement facility if she told headquarters that the woman was senile so it wasn't so awful... was it? She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she walked ahead towards her gleaming, pointed grey ship and the brigs followed behind, pulling the protesting elder along.

Soon, she was settled in front of the controls of her S-15 patroller, and the woman had been brought into an accompanying patroller manned by the two brigs. Mila ordered the brigadiers towards the nearest block which would take care of such issues and started her own ship. Her anger faded and a pang of guilt settled somewhere in her chest. _No!_ She had to stop feeling like this! She had to be conditioned, strict and unflinching. Such weak, emotional feelings would only lead to complete disaster. She had been lenient enough compared to other guardians.

It was in such moments that Mila reminded herself of the Sphere's objectives; peace, prosperity and progress. Unpleasant tasks like these had to be fulfilled to reach those objectives; therefore she was helping the world.

_Everything's fine. _She told herself. _Everything will be fine. Everyone struggles in the first weeks of their new jobs. It has to be so._

Her shift ended later that morning so she flew back to her new quarters on a small Sphere block which was dotted with the usual sleek, shiny grey buildings speckled by large glass windows. She docked her own patroller next to the countless, identical S-15's and went to the cafeteria for lunch. The circular cafeteria, whose roof was a large window, was big enough to sustain a few hundred people so it was quite a feat to find someone you knew amongst all the tables. She grabbed her plate and miraculously spotted her friend, Oslo, in the crowd so she joined him. She could recognize that wispy blond hair anywhere; he was sitting alone at a table with his back to her. Since they worked in adjacent squadrons, they resided on the same block for the time being. She hadn't spoken to him since the graduation ceremony seeing as he hadn't gone to that night club afterwards. She plunked her tray on the table in front of him; making him jump nervously.

"You're sitting in my seat." She joked, her sapphire blue eyes glinted playfully.

"Mila." He stated tiredly, but with a hint of amusement.

She laughed and sat down."So, how was your second week so far?" She asked as she bit into her sandwich.

"It was very... dull I must admit..."

"Me too." She admitted, secretly happy to know that she wasn't the only one miserable in her new job.

"There's been no action so far!" He complained and he squeezed his water bottle so hard that water squirted out and rained down on people sitting at the table behind him.

Mila smiled as an argument sparked between colleagues at the adjoining table; Oslo was oblivious.

"Yes, I know. I'm getting tired of collecting water." She said, trying to continue the conversation over the loud dispute. Eventually, the quarrel faded and Mila was finally able to chat with her friend; she could talk openly to him, she trusted him. She was slightly disappointed when he recounted his week and she realized how strict and formal he had been, whereas she had struggled and been polite or even considerate with some people. She had done the best she could to help the taxpayers; after all, wasn't that what the Sphere was supposed to do? Lend help and guidance to avoid chaos and war?

_At least, that's what they told us at the Academy... _She thought sadly. She lifted her eyes and met Oslo's grey ones watching her intently, almost staring at her... He looked away quickly and his pale face reddened for the fragment of a second. Just as she was about to ask him what he was thinking, something unexpected happened.

Just then, both of their receiver phones bleeped loudly. It was a code that each student was taught. Judging by this peculiar ringing sound, they were needed for a special mission. Oslo smiled and Mila dropped her sandwich in disbelief. It was finally happening! What she had been training for her whole life; she would be going on her very first mission! Suddenly, all her fears and worries melted away, replaced by happiness and excitement.

"I can't believe it." She said, her words slightly muffled by her mouthful of bread.

"Yes!" Oslo exclaimed loudly; some people stared grumpily in the boy's direction. "Let's go." He said, standing up eagerly.

They rushed to command central immediately, situated a few minutes away from the cafeteria, and were welcomed by an esteemed, high ranked guardian. The woman led them aside, out of earshot of all the other workers sitting in front of consoles, managing data in the metallic room.

"You have been chosen for an important mission." The guardian started without delay, speaking formally. "You were both promising students at the Academy and this is your chance to prove yourselves worthy."

She motioned towards a large computer screen where a map was displayed. "A rebel attack was led a few hours ago against a water carrier. One of the pirate vessels was shot down and landed on the block. The ship is empty now."

The woman pointed out a random spot on the detailed map and when her finger touched the screen, it enlarged the area to show an image of the crash; the picture was blurred but Mila could recognize the metallic outline of a hull sunk into sandy terrain. "It's a Sphere controlled area and we have canceled any flying... Therefore, it's certain that the rebel is still hiding somewhere on that block." She paused and glanced at them, somewhat disapprovingly. She sighed. "You are assigned to capture him." Her tone suggested that she didn't have much faith in them but that didn't keep Mila's heart from beating wildly.

An image of the pirate in question flashed on screen and replaced the map; he was a young man about their own age. She was impacted by how young he was, how casual he looked, as if he had no conscience. Mila immediately found his careless expression extremely irritating.

"His name: Marcus Farrell, one prominent figure in the resistance. Bring him back to us for questioning. We want him alive." She finished in a tiresome voice.

Mila and Oslo bowed curtly and walked out after they had received all the instructions. After taking an hour or so for preparations, they met up and rushed to the docks, chatting excitingly along the way, and they climbed into their S-15's.

"This is going to be something to remember." Mila said on her radio from inside her ship as she buttoned the control panel to start the ship.

"Yes, we'll make that pirate wish he'd never been born." Oslo's voice sounded over the radio on her console and she glanced out the window to see him sitting in his ship a few yards away from her own docked S-15.

"You sound like a psycho right now Olli did you know?" She said, grimacing at him from her window and making a twirling motion with her index finger over her head to propose that he was a mad person.

"Oh, ha-ha."

They took off, half-racing each other to their destination which was half an hour's flight away. They weren't supposed to use Sphere equipment for leisure but as she was having a moment of free-time with her friend, her loyalties seemed to fade somewhat. Sooner than she had expected, they had arrived at the busy city block and they docked with permission from a Sphere worker over the radio.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N I DON'T OWN SKYLAND.

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><p>The two young guardians stood on the docks having just disembarked from their S-15's. They seemed to stand out from the rest of the populace in their dark grey uniforms with the Sphere crest on the right side chest pocket; the workers patrolling the docks all wore brightly colored clothing that contrasted against them.<p>

Mila felt like a knot had twisted inside her; she was eager to start the mission but she had a strange uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, the same you get before a thunderstorm strikes. Thrilling yes; but terrifying at the same time.

Mila waited. Oslo was setting up the radio frequencies on their mobile receivers so that they wouldn't have any disturbances from other airwaves.

From where they stood, they had a great view of the lesser city which was swarming with people. The concrete buildings were all mainly short and stocky; this was a commercial block; where ships stopped to get repairs or make deliveries and the whole city was, in a sense, a market place. Farmers came here from their home blocks to sell their harvests and produce. Salesman sold their new vessels.

The city was also notorious for its black market; outlaws selling water or weaponry. Sphere officials patrolled this block on a regular basis and people were accustomed to a no fly zone being imposed here; which is why there was a multitude of inns and hotels to stay the night. Mila was discouraged by the hordes of people walking about; this wasn't going to be an easy task. Sunshine scorched the sidewalk, making heat waves rise and distort what was further ahead.

"Let's split up. If you see the criminal, call me and we'll corner him." Oslo said.

"Right." Mila agreed. She turned to leave, her braided black hair swishing through the air.

"Mila?"

"What?"

"Watch yourself."

Before she could respond, he took off down a cobbled stone street and disappeared into the crowd.

_Watch yourself… I think I can take care of a pirate._

The afternoon consisted of walking around looking for the rebel in the streets. Finding the pirate on this block would be impossible! Why had they been assigned such a hopeless mission? Mila stopped a few people on the way to ask them if they had seen the criminal. Most of them gave her a dirty look and said 'no'. Others ignored her completely. Why did people treat her this way? She didn't know.

"Any luck…" Oslo's voice asked through her receiver. She unclipped the phone from her belt and lifted it to her mouth as she strode forwards, her eyes searching restlessly for anything unusual. Anything out of place...

"No." She answered as she walked into a square lined with market stands laden with fruits and nuts. There was cursing followed by silence on the other end.

"I see…" He paused. "Mila, I was wondering..."

"Yes?" She asked.

"You're not seeing anyone… are you?"

Mila just stared at the phone for a few seconds before responding impatiently. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I only thought that; you know that since - Do you want to go out?" He blurted. On Mila's end there was a little static.

"I didn't catch that." Said Mila.

"I _said_: do you want to go out? With me, I mean."

This time Mila heard it clearly and her mind raced. They were just friends… not in that way. Oh no. Her eyes set on someone in the market place bent over a stall, looking at the fruits on the shelves. She saw a weapon strapped on his belt; not many carried weaponry in the open like that… Momentarily forgetting Oslo, she tapped the stranger's shoulder curiously.

"Excuse me sir-" She started as he whirled around quickly and stared at her.

It was Marcus Farrell.

For a second they just stared at each other in shock. Then, without warning, he pushed her roughly into a barrel of stacked apples and took off.

"You there! STOP!" She yelled as she struggled and pushed her backside out of the barrel before sprinting after him. She threw a crackling energy orb his way but he ducked it. It exploded a wooden market stand a few feet behind him, making some unsuspecting pedestrians scream. Unfortunately, out of that stand tumbled hundreds of round nuts that made her slip and fall onto the dirty walkway. She grunted angrily and picked up her receiver.

"Oslo. I've got him." She half-screamed into the phone. With that said, she picked herself up and pelted after him. Oslo would be able to pinpoint her location with the tracking device in the phone. "Pirate! You're under arrest!" She yelled as he ran ahead of her.

He was swift and fast; avoiding her energy blasts with ease and toppling objects behind him to trip her. It was a crazy race though dark alleys and down crowded streets but Mila didn't let up; she had been training for this her whole life. Her lungs seared painfully as the chase stretched into minutes. She might have been able to blast him with an energy orb but he was always cutting through crowds and she didn't want to injure any innocent bystanders. She temporarily lost sight of him in a mass of people but then spotted him again as he entered the side door of a large garage.

"Move!" She yelled as she shoved people aside roughly and burst through the door into still darkness.

She waited as her eyes adjusted to the dark and she sprained her ears for any sound. The door closed behind her with a whiny creak. She prowled noiselessly between rows of large mounted metallic crates. It seemed she was inside some sort of storage garage filled with stacked supplies.

"I know you're in here pirate. Come out, you're surrounded." Her voice echoed ominously.

She continued patrolling between the rows of metal boxes while keeping a watchful eye on the exit door. Small ventilation slits on the high ceiling spotted certain places with minimal lighting. A slow, rusted fan turned lazily above the place, casting eerie moving shadows. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

Suddenly, she heard a sliding sound; like corroded metal grinding against the floor. She jumped to the side just as a crate fell with a loud ruckus where she had been standing a few seconds earlier. The crash of resounded metal reverberated through the building as she spun around in fear. She jerked her head up to see the rebel running along on top of the stock piles, his silhouette visible under the scarce rectangular gaps of light.

His footsteps echoed with a metallic twinge as he sprinted on top of the uneven boxes. Mila wasted no time; she powered a fizzing energy orb in her hands. With a yell of effort, she blasted once... twice, and missed him. The third time however, she exploded the crates right under him, making them shatter and cascade into a mess of broken wood and scattered metal shrapnel. The pirate yelped and fell amongst the debris.

Silence fell as the cloud of dust settled. Mila remembered to breathe with a gasp and approached carefully.

She spotted his dark profile lying under some wooden planks. He coughed and pushed the heavy boards off. He stood up uncertainly, swayed and leaned on a metal crate behind him to avoid falling over.

"You're under arrest." She asserted proudly as she approached. She had him cornered now.

"You've told me that four times already." He grumbled.

She blushed angrily and recomposed herself. Now that they stood beneath a stripe of dusty lighting, she could see him clearly. The young man was about her age, maybe older; he had tousled dark hair and obscure eyes. He wore brown cargo pants, heavy boots and a ruffled, black jacket. He was tall and slim but still well muscled. He shifted his arm to grab the gun strapped on his belt but Mila snatched it away with her powers before he could use it. She threw it across the garage and its broken parts skidded noisily across the cement floor.

They froze in a fixed stare as if waiting for the other to take action, a distance of about five metres separated them. Mila wasn't sure what to do now; learning the steps of capture in class was one thing but actually doing it? She was having trouble remembering what to do next.

"Give it up pirate, it's over…" She ordered, trying to fill the awkward silence. Her voice echoed on the high ceiling and she was surprised at how unconvincing she sounded.

"You're wrong. Even if I die the rebellion will still go on." He said as he stared at her with hatred. His voice however, remained calm.

"Don't give yourself so much importance. I seriously doubt that you're the brains behind the rebellion."

"Not the brains." He straightened his shoulders proudly, "_A leader_."

Mila laughed tensely. "You? You're way too young."

"I could say the same about you." He retorted calmly.

She hated how composed and cool he was; didn't he know that she could kill him any second with her powers? Would she? Mila wanted to use up a little time until Oslo got here to help. She doubted the rebel would run off though, seeing how he needed to lean on the crate to stand.

"Leading a rebellion." She snarled as she crossed her arms. "You'll never win against us."

"Dictatorships never prosper either." He reasoned.

"What's wrong with you?" She exclaimed furiously. Pirates stole countless water shipments destined for deprived areas and horded it for themselves, in the process costing lives of hundreds of thirsty citizens. Of course a totalitarian government was essential; if everyone was left to fight over the water resources on their own, there would be endless chaos. She took a breath before continuing; "We're trying to keep the peace in this mess of a world and you just throw it into turmoil again!"

He frowned and stepped forward angrily. "Throw it into _turmoil_? We're trying to survive!" He shouted. "Not that you would know what it's like to run out of water and food, being pampered at the Academy-"

"Pampered? We're trained-"

"Don't tell me that you ever ran out of vital resources or comfort over there."

Where was Oslo already? Mila waved her hand impatiently to silence him. "It doesn't matter what you say, you'll just end up like that red haired rebel we caught a few weeks ago." She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

"Andy… Where'd you take him!" He yelled furiously, surprising her with the fact that he knew the dead boy's name.

Mila's eyes lowered guiltily. She guessed that they must have known each other; she had just been trying to scare him.

He caught her look and his eyes widened. "You killed him." He stated, his voice dangerously calm.

"_I_ didn't-" She started saying when he unexpectedly grabbed a curved metal pole lying in the debris and ran at her, arms raised. She cried out in fear and instinctively blasted him with her powers.

He slammed back into the crate behind him; the metal pole slid out of his grasp and was thrown away, spinning through the air. A heavy piece of shrapnel wood already laying precariously on the top edge of the crate behind the rebel, swayed dangerously. It had undoubtedly been thrown there when Mila had exploded the other crate with a seijin blast; the guardian noticed the hazard, but Farrell did not. Abruptly, the object tumbled downwards and fell _smack_ on his head. For a moment he just stood there, glaring at her as the wooden board clattered onto the cement floor. Then he groaned… and collapsed.

Mila stood there wincing, with her arms outstretched in their last movement of sending an energy flare. Her eyes widened as she peered at him, lying face first on the ground. She unfroze and approached cautiously, step by step. The girl kicked his arm tentatively and flinched back in case he was faking. He remained sprawled on the floor.

She kneeled next to him; he wasn't dead because she could hear him breathing. Well, she had done it; captured her first rebel. It was an achievement to be proud of, or rather, she should be feeling pride right this moment. No feeling of happiness crossed her mind however, that pesky guilt clawing inside her had just augmented, making her feel worse than ever.

She couldn't deny it; there was something about this whole situation that didn't feel right. If she was doing something good, then she shouldn't feel so awful. This instinctive remorse was present for a reason. But for what? He'd tried to _kill_ her! Twice! Still… She was hunting him down and ultimately bringing him to the people who would kill _him_.

She would have done the same in his position if someone had killed her annoying colleague, Priscilla. Or was the cause of all this the fact that this criminal had known Andy and she had done nothing to help him? Perhaps it was true that Mila couldn't have done anything for him without ending up just like Katie. But she could now... Oddly enough, she felt sorry for this ignorant pirate, lying there all bloody and worn out. He didn't know if he had been told lies about the Sphere… It wasn't his fault. Shouldn't he get a second chance where Andy didn't? Saving him might be a way to get rid of the guilt that's been bothering her all this time. She hadn't been herself ever since they had killed Katie's brother in front of her.

However, she couldn't just bring him with her and plead the guardian not to kill him. The way she figured, questioning meant torture followed by certain death. No, she couldn't let that happen; living with that guilt for the rest of her life would be unbearable. Even if he was just a pirate.

She looked at his rebel outfit; it was just screaming out adventure. Her sight set on his face and she pushed back some of the strands of hair from his forehead to see if he was seriously injured. He seemed alright, maybe a little bruised though. She drew her hand back abruptly.

What was she doing?

Oslo wouldn't help her save Farrell; he was too proud to be with the Sphere and he hated non-seijins. At least one of them was destined to be a successful guardian. Mila was powerful, and she knew it, but these emotional walls were pushing her away from her goals.

Mila closed her eyes and faded into the pirate's mind; it was easier to read someone's thoughts if they weren't conscious but even then it was tricky. Mila managed to enter and was met with such a confusing jumble of thoughts that she could barely make sense of it all. In the end, she was able to scan the young man's recent memories quickly and she saw everything from his point of view as he escaped his crashed ship, unharmed. It was stalled, not wrecked. This surprised her; the guardian who had given her this mission had told her that they had shot him down. Did she lie because she didn't want to admit that the pirate had almost escaped them?

In vision flashes, she saw everything from his point of view as he wandered through the market place, hid in the shadows as he attempted contacting rebel acolytes who didn't respond. Stranded, he kept to the crowds, wandering aimlessly to avoid getting noticed. Then she saw her own face. Was that really what she looked like? _"Excuse me sir…"_ She stopped reading his thoughts, let her arms drop to her sides and concentrated.

If she could bring him back to his ship and then drop him off somewhere before anyone knew- Yes, that _could_ work. Well, it was the best idea she could think of at least. But it was such a stupid plan! It would never-

"Mila?"

She gasped as she heard Oslo's voice echo in the garage. For a second of blind panic, she knew not what to do. She had to make a decision. The seijin glanced once more at the pirate and, with a moment of inner frustration, made her choice.

She quickly levitated the pirate to a standing position, his arms dangled loosely from his body and his head lolled forwards. She started sneaking down one row of crates, hearing Oslo's footsteps on the other end of the building. Mila hastily wedged her receiver under the rubble of the exploded box before leaving so Oslo wouldn't be heading for the exit. She made her way to the exit door, the pirate hovering like a ghost behind her; carefully taking steps when Oslo did so that he wouldn't notice the noise. Finally, she opened the door to go outside and pushed Farrell out before closing it silently.

Oslo was still in there and she had a few minutes of advance if all went well. All right, now what? She would pretend to have captured the pirate and go back to his ship for 'inspection'. She didn't want to use her S-15, it had too many tracking devices. She'd convince the guards to let her use his ship and blast off before anyone figured out what was happening.

Fortunately, sunset had fallen by the time Mila had sneaked out of the stocking garage. There must have been a strict curfew on this block because the streets that were so crowded a few minutes earlier were now deserted.

She must have looked strange... walking around with a floating, unconscious pirate. The seijin had to hurry, her energy reserves were getting low and she didn't want to drag him all the way. She found a pair of slightly cracked shaded glasses lying under a closed market stand and plunked them on his face.

There, that looked better. Now anyone who glanced their way would think that they were walking together.

Sort of.

She walked hastily down the street, her eyes gleaming with purpose; Oslo would start worrying now, he could call in reinforcements. She had to review the rebel's memories to find his ship which was in the outskirts of the city on sandy terrain. Soon, she was out of the city, rushing across a dry, windswept landscape; as she hurried forwards, slightly panting from all the running and the strain of levitating someone all this way, she noticed dots of light up ahead. Underfoot, there were two long dents in the sand where the ship in question had skimmed the earth as it fell. The moving specks of light belonged to the heads of the elongated humanoid silhouettes of brigadiers which were assembled around a gleaming red and grey ship with pointed ends sitting in the sand.

Mila stopped dead in her tracks for a second.

The Hyperion…

This pirate had stolen one of the greatest prototypes created by the Sphere. For a moment, Mila was tempted in actually turning him in but she was reminded that she was in too deep to turn back now.

When she arrived, a few brigadiers guarded the 'crash site' and Mila understood why; the ship in question was valuable, it had been stolen a year ago by the rebellion. It was the fastest ship in its class, a real innovation.

The robots' single eyes shone discordantly in the night, flashing against the ship's hull and blinding her.

"Halt." The brigadiers answered in synchronization.

She came into view and bathed into the floodlight they projected into the darkness.

"Identifying…" One of them said. At soon as they registered Mila's chip card, the robots saluted her and lowered their weapons.

"I order you to disperse. You are relieved of this task." Said Mila in a formal tone.

"Negative." One of them said.

"I have been instructed to inspect the crash. You are impeding on the site, the evidence could be corrupted." She retorted, edgy with fear.

The brigs stood still.

"Disperse!" She yelled in her most commanding voice.

They stomped off in an orderly line. Mila watched them until their lights disappeared in the distance. Once they were far enough, she breathed with relief and opened the cockpit hatch. She dumped the pirate roughly in the back seat of the cockpit and she climbed impatiently in the front.

"I must be mental..." She muttered and she buttoned the control panel. She threw out the tracking device the brigs had put in. It took half an hour to successfully restart the engines and by that time, sweat beaded her forehead and her hands shook with panic.

They would imprison her! They would kill her for betraying them!

_Calm down, breathe in, and breathe out._

The engines hummed. Finally! She was about to take off when it occurred to her that Farrell would not stay unconscious forever. She cuffed his hands behind his back as he lay face first on the back seat, the glasses askew, drooling slightly.

Well, look who's not so fabulous now, she thought smugly. The ship took off, accelerating into the distance with speed exceeding any S-15.

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><p><em>Leave a reviewLaissez un commentaire_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N I DON'T OWN SKYLAND.

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><p>Mila couldn't believe her luck. No Sphere ships had given her pursuit when she had flown off with the Hyperion. She suspected it was because the no fly zone had only been imposed on the docks whereas she had left from a rocky outstretch on the outside of the city; completely undetected.<p>

She wasn't used to flying a ship like the Hyperion and she kept accelerating too fast and making rough curves. To make matters worse, the vessel must have been damaged during the crash because it shuddered sideways from time to time. Well, at least it was flying otherwise they'd both have been caught.

An hour had flown by since her departure. The guardian had purposefully averted the Sphere controlled blocks to attract less attention; Mila was presently heading for the outskirts of the Archipelago. Where else could she drop off a pirate? She'd have to drop him off, rush back to headquarters and make up some story - but what if no one believed her? Should she take the risk of even going back? It also took her this amount of time to realize what a _horrible_ mistake she had made.

What if a camera had caught sight of them leaving together? Why hadn't she thought about that! It was over, and now she couldn't go back to the Sphere just for the sake of some stupid pirate. He had ruined everything!

"Why did I save you?" She snapped angrily at the sleeping rebel who was slumped on the back seat. "I'm going to lose everything and it's_ all your fault!_"

He snored loudly and she turned her head back forwards. She didn't even know why she had saved him at this point; after all he was a criminal. A miscreant, a villain, some lowlife revolutionary.

But then, she knew why. What was the point of lying to herself now? The truth was simple; she couldn't kill people. That's all there was to it.

"Idiot…" She muttered to herself and blew the hair out of her face.

Why was she such a failure? This was a horrifying error; Mila had let a moment of weakness spoil her future. All her years of effort at the Academy were ruined. She hadn't even managed to complete her very first mission. Where would she go now? All she had known was being with the Sphere.

An angry tear streamed down her cheek. And Oslo, oh no… He would throw a fit when he found out. _If_ he found out. There was still a chance that she hadn't been spotted right? Unless someone interrogated the brigadiers that had let her 'inspect' the crash site.

Oh, who was she kidding? Everything was lost.

She was pondering on the horrible, hopeless life that awaited her when the pirate groaned and she jumped nervously. Mila had almost forgotten about him.

"Hmm…" He moaned.

Mila kept her eyes glued on the sky ahead and concentrated on her flying. She heard his clothes crinkle as he shifted on the back seat.

"What the…?" His voice was sleepy but layered with worry.

She sat up straight, not much knowing if she should let him know of her presence just yet. After all, he had charged at her with a sharp metal pole like a mad person earlier.

"I can't see." He stated to himself with growing alarm. "I can't _see_ anything. I'm blind. _I'm_ _blind._"

"You're not _blind_." Mila said quietly, unable to hold it in anymore. "They're sun glasses."

Farrell fell silent, turned onto his side and squinted in her direction.

"Who's there!" He demanded as he managed to sit up, if not maladroitly what with his hands tied behind his back. As a response, Mila exhaled noisily.

"You! You're that guardian!" He uttered with shock and he shook his head so that the glasses fell off. "And you're piloting _my_ ship! How did I get here?… What are you doing-"

"Enough with the questions."

Marcus squinted in the moonlight as he looked around. "I see you don't have any brigadier buddies… Scared them off?"

Mila's cheeks reddened with anger. This was all his fault; she hated him so much right now it was beyond comprehension. "I'm saving your life you idiot!" Mila exclaimed, releasing all her frustration on him at once.

For a moment he just glared at her. "What?" He finally asked, the arrogant tone was gone.

"I- I don't know... why I'm doing this."

There was a long silence in which Mila sat tensely, prepared to counter-attack if he tried anything.

"I'm finding this hard to believe." He said as he awkwardly made his way forwards and sat in the front passenger seat on her right. "Well, well… I've got to admit I wasn't expecting this." He had a look of pure confusion on his face. His hair was disheveled and he had a red imprint on his left cheek from sleeping face first on the leather seat for so long.

Mila just shook her head and side glanced in his direction. "Don't try anything stupid, I'll throw you overboard…"

"After all the trouble it took to save me, I doubt it." He said coolly and looked at her. "And by the way, I know seijins are just like the rest of us when the sunlight's gone."

"Just like the rest?" Mila cried indignantly. "Seijins possess superior power and intellect beyond your-"

"Drop it already." He groaned.

Mila's mouth tightened into a grim line and she glared in his direction. He smiled self-importantly. She hated his calm exterior. He should be scared. He shouldn't be mocking her.

"So now; untie me so I can drop you off somewhere." He ordered without delay.

_That's rich considering I'm the one in charge right now. _Mila thought. "Oh, I don't think so. I'm going to drop _you_ off."

"It's my ship!" He yelled, betraying some of his bottled anger. His dark eyebrows lowered and he narrowed his eyes.

"It belongs to the Sphere; you stole it from us!" Mila shouted back.

The pirate shook his head and muttered insults under his breath which Mila promptly ignored.

"So… You 'saved' me." He stated after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Yes."

"I don't get it."

"Me neither." She admitted.

"You know… There's no going back at this point, they'll kill you."

"Kill? No, you seriously misjudge the Sphere…" Mila smirked.

"They killed one of our men. We've lost too many already."

Mila stopped and stared obstinately forwards. "I saw it… I'm not the one who did it I swear…" she said, and his gaze lost some of its ferocity. "I'm not proud of what happened."

"Is that what changed your mind?" He asked and Mila closed her mouth with shock. How could he even tell that she had changed her mind about the Sphere? For all he knew, she could be lying to him about this so called rescue and be taking him back to headquarters right this moment. She remained silent but he nodded.

"We're going to miss the kid." He murmured and stared outside.

Mila looked at him with surprise. It was the first time she'd heard someone care about another in this way. Any betrayal of emotion was not publicly displayed at School. And to hear it from a ruthless pirate was even more surprising.

"Sorry." She blurted out before she could stop herself. _Shut up, shut up!_

He glanced her way with surprise and his frown faded.

"_I guess... _sorry I tried to kill you back there." He added, somewhat reluctantly.

"Same, I suppose." She said.

Were they really doing this? Pirate and guardian apologizing to each other? It was so strange. She cleared her throat.

"So where should I take you?" She asked.

"I can't give you coordinates to rebel bases…" He answered impatiently.

"Well, anywhere in between?" She prodded.

He thought for a second. "Babylonia."

"But that's Sphere controlled…" She argued.

"They hardly ever come by over there, it's fine." He looked at her. "And where are you going?"

"None of your business." Mila retorted sharply.

"Since there's no going back why don't you join the resistance? We could use people like you."

"To steal and spread chaos. I don't think so."

"Is that what they told you? We're not trying to spread chaos, we want peace. But to get freedom, we need to fight."

"Freedom of what?" She asked with a small laugh and the pirate shook his head in disbelief.

"The Sphere _steals_ our water, people are _dying_. We're all their slaves, including you."

"I _chose_ to go to the Academy." Mila retorted, slightly amused by his lies.

"Not many have that privilege; they're taken against their wills. Separated from their families."

Mila stopped smiling. "No… that isn't true." She glared at him, suddenly amazed at how easily he could make up lies. "Just… be quiet." She snapped.

He just shrugged with annoyance and stared back outside; at any rate, he was too tired to argue anymore. Mila thought of Katie, always so reluctant and distant in class; could it be true that she had been kidnapped by the Sphere? No, no. She put her thoughts aside and set course for Babylonia.

A cool, clear morning brightened the skies and the Babylonia region merged into sight. Mila wondered if she would be considered missing by the Sphere already. It had been such a strange journey. The passengers had barely spoken the whole way; unless one counted sporadic arguments for conversation. The Babylonia region sat in a bank of cottony white cumulus clouds, bathing in the morning sunshine. It was beautiful. Farrell nodded at one of the smallest block fragments on the less inhabited edge of Babylonia where an old farmhouse was sitting in the field.

"You live here?" She asked.

"Of course not." He rolled his eyes and Mila groaned impatiently. The Hyperion docked next to a small quay: the ship's engines spluttered and stopped abruptly.

"All right so… Go on then." She ordered.

He cleared his throat impatiently. "First of all, take these off."

Mila flipped his handcuffs off with her powers and crossed her arms, letting her hands glow ever-so-slightly. Farrell rubbed his wrists and stood up. He pushed open the hatch and climbed out of the cockpit and onto the metal deck of the ship. Mila watched him. He leaned on the open window and gazed at her.

"You do know the ship is out of energy, right?" He asked.

Mila's eyes set on one of the bleeping yellow lights on the control panel that flashed 'empty'. She cast him a quizzical look.

"We've been running on reserves for the last half hour. The ship needs to recharge."

"You knew this!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah." He smiled. He tapped the window twice, turned around and left, leaving Mila flustered and furious. She scrambled out of the seat, closed the cockpit window and followed him hesitantly, at a reasonable distance. She needed to see where he was heading...

She followed him across a swaying golden field and landed on unkempt path that led to the house. She hated the way he walked, his shoulders straight and how he was taking, long proud strides... The brick house itself had the appearance of falling into ruin; the shingles on the roof were curled and sun baked; the wooden doors, which were painted in faded blue, were chipped and cracked. The front 'yard' was invaded by wild plants and the windows were so dusty that they resembled grey panes, it was nearly impossible to see inside. When they had gotten close enough, she stopped, still watching him intently, and Marcus knocked on the door. No one answered so he twisted the doorknob, forced the door open and peered inside. Seemingly content with the fact that it was deserted, he entered without a word.

Mila didn't follow though; she spotted a water trough that connected to a water cistern by old pipelines in the front yard. Had it collected rain water? She pumped the rusty lever until water spewed out and she cupped her hands and drank gratefully.

"We haven't even been here five minutes and you're already taking the water." He mentioned as he walked past. She ignored him and washed her face. When she was done, she found an old park bench in the overgrown grass and sat on it, crossing her legs.

"What are you doing?" He asked impatiently.

"I'm waiting for the ship to recharge." Mila said through gritted teeth.

"Fine. Sit there all day for all I care." She heard his footsteps crunch the dirt as he walked away. After about an hour of sitting in the heat, she'd had enough. Seeing as she had nothing to lose, she entered the old house. The wooden door creaked with protest as she strode inside the living room. Dust danced in the rays of sunshine streaming between the moldy curtains. In the back, there was a small kitchen and a door that lead to the backyard. A ladder on the right connected to the loft.

She heard a commotion upstairs as objects rattled around in the ceiling and guessed that Farrell was there. She would just inspect this place - she had to admit that curiosity had gotten the better of her... She sat hesitantly on the sofa and waited. The rebel could be calling his rebel acolytes right now to come and jail her for all she knew. Soon, he climbed down the ladder, carrying a box which he set on the rickety kitchen table. She heard him sigh. "What is this place?" She asked in a monotone voice as she pulled stuffing out of a hole in a dusty cushion.

"Used to live here." He said as he walked around the kitchen, inspecting the pantry and counters.

"It's deserted." She noted.

"That's because," He heaved something from the top drawer, "the Sphere came here and killed my father a few years back."

Mila froze and threw the cushion away. She could sense that he wasn't lying now that it was day and she had her powers. Not that she entered his thoughts often because he would just shut her out anyways. It was much easier to read people's minds when they were unconscious, she noted.

"What did he do?" She asked, not masking her curiosity this time.

"He was spreading rebellious ideas…" He answered nonchalantly, his voice muffled as he poked his head under the sink and rummaged for objects unknown.

Mila was silent. It seemed that her perception of the Sphere kept getting worse as the days went by. Had she been told lies at the Academy or was this rebel trying to scare her? Mila decided on the latter.

She picked up a dusty picture frame from the end table and wiped the grime off with her sleeve. It was the image of a family; a young couple. She could see the house as it was before it fell in ruin, little flower patches grew in the front yard, the grass was trimmed. The dark haired man was standing behind the bench with his hands on the woman's shoulders; he had a serious face, as if he hadn't found time to smile when they took the picture. They were both dark-haired but the man had a deep tan, undoubtedly from working outside as a farmer; this is what Mila guessed these people to be. The woman sat on the bench, cradling a bundle in her arms. The photograph had yellowed slightly with the years but it was still clear.

The picture frame was snatched out of her hands abruptly. "My parents." His voice sounded behind her sofa, which was adjacent to the kitchen, and she flinched and stood up. The term parent was so unfamiliar, so alien to her. She didn't remember ever having a family.

"They look... nice." Mila said, not much knowing what to say. It was true though, they were good looking sweethearts, and she felt a pang of jealousy that someone could have had such a family. He watched her as he plunked the frame back in its spot, the picture faced downward on the table.

"Aren't you worried I might go tell the Sphere on you? Or attack…" She inquired.

"No. You're wanted now." He said.

"I could reason with them you know, they wouldn't just kill me…"

"I don't think you should take that chance." He was right though, she didn't know who to trust anymore. She was stuck in the middle.

"You don't know me." She snapped anyways.

"Whatever." He sighed and walked towards the kitchen table, his boots clomping noisily on the wooden floor boards. He lifted a tin can from his box of collected objects. The can was labeled 'potatoes'. "Hungry?" he asked, shaking it slightly.

"That thing's been lying in the cupboard for years…"

"It's canned. It could last a lifetime."

"I doubt that." Said Mila, eyeing the rusted can with disgust.

"So sorry I can't get you escargots and caviar madam." He said rudely, mocking her accent.

_As if anyone ate caviar and escargots these days!_

Mila had opened her mouth to retort when she felt something tickle her left foot. She peered down and saw a rat nibbling on her shoe. The seijin shouted out with fear; she scrambled backwards and stood onto the dusty couch; with a loud _squeak!,_ the rat skittered back to its hole in the wall.

Farrell lost hold of the tin can and veered around, expecting to see an enemy entering the front door. His eyes set on the rat. He stared at her and a smile appeared on his lips; she could see he was trying to hold back from laughing.

Mila cleared her throat and stepped back onto the floor, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Her tough girl façade wouldn't work for long at this rate.

"What are you looking at?" She demanded and he shook his head, as if she was a silly child. She recuperated the runaway can with her powers. "Well, let's try this." She said, wanting to change the subject, putting her free hand on her hip. She _was_ starving... "If I die it's your fault."

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><p><em>AN I've been working on this story for some time. I already pre-wrote the main outline of each chapter. Here's a hint: You can expect more action-packed adventure! So yep, Leave a review! Laissez un commentaire!_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N I DON'T OWN SKYLAND.

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><p>The star studded sky over Babylonia was cloudless; the crickets chirped and the wind whistled through the grassy fields. A few fireflies grouped in the front yard of a rundown farm house that was usually empty and lifeless. But tonight, the small amber flicker of a gas lamp could be seen through the thin, moth eaten curtains of the front windows.<p>

Inside the living room, a young guardian was lying on the sofa; she couldn't sleep. In the upper loft, a young man had made a makeshift bed on the floor with old, dusty blankets. He was sound asleep, as if he had not a care in the world. Of course, this was because he was exhausted and he had had a throbbing headache ever since waking up in the back seat of his own ship. This, he had not mentioned to the girl. Marcus was not one to voice his emotions easily.

The unlikely pair had ended up staying the night inside the old house since there was nothing to do yet about the ship. It was taking longer than normal to recharge; they were stranded. At least there was still some water in the cistern outside and remaining provisions in the kitchen cabinets and cellar.

Mila lay there for quite a while before finally succumbing to sleep. She was scared that Farrell might sneak up to her during the night to kill her. She doubted it but still… at least she would be prepared. She could fight if it came to that. What bothered her was the fact that he was acting as if she was no threat at all which, _frankly_, was insulting.

Also, the sofa was uncomfortable and it smelled faintly like mold. She shivered and turned on her side; it was cold here at night without a furnace, or any electricity for that matter. She kept glancing at the miniature hole in the wall, searching for the trace of a small claw or a whisker; she certainly didn't want the rat to venture towards her while she was sleeping.

_I don't like rats, I don't like rats... I. Don't. Like. Rats._

Who knew what kind of diseases that creature could spread? In the end, the sound of snoring coming from upstairs reassured her and she fell asleep.

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><p>After what seemed like an eternity, morning light filtered through the curtains; Mila squinted as the sun rays coated her face. She opened her eyes, which flashed bright blue, and her pupils retracted under the bright sunlight.<p>

Confusion lingered until she remembered what had happened the day before. The seijin sat up and looked drowsily around the living room. Books were scattered on the floor, a chair was overturned in the corner. A fine layer of dust coated everything, like the delicate film of winter's first snow. The last inhabitants of the house had left in a hurry... Or else someone had robbed it. Then again, perhaps there had been fighting and struggling when the Sphere officials had arrived to kill Farrell's father.

Could it be true? Had the Sphere really done this? Sure. She had seen too much to confirm otherwise.

But, they must have had a good reason, she thought. _He was spreading rebellious ideas…_ Well, look no further. He was a criminal; just like Marcus. And she had broken the chain by rescuing the pirate; how strange.

How could she have strayed away from the Sphere? What was it about this pirate that made her doubt where her loyalties belonged?

The atmosphere emanated some kind of silent sorrow; as if the house was sad to have been left alone to crumble. She glanced once more at the upturned picture frame on the end table and couldn't help wondering what had happened to the mother; she felt a strange connection to that photograph, as if it had been her family and not Marcus's. She got up, yawned and stretched.

The sudden silence hit her; something wasn't right... "Umm… Hello?" she asked.

There was no answer.

She climbed the rickety ladder to the loft and peered through the darkness. He wasn't there either.

Upon further inspection, she found that the house was deserted and the rebel was nowhere to be found. She grunted with fury and cursed loudly, her voice echoing through the house. At this moment, the front door opened and Marcus walked inside; there was grease smeared on his cheek and he was clutching a coil of wires in his fist.

"Hyperdrive's fried." He said as Mila eyed him cautiously, she hadn't even combed her hair yet.

"What?" She asked sleepily.

"The Hy-pe-rion, I need to fix it." He repeated slowly, as if speaking to an idiot.

"I know what a hyperdrive is." She answered as they sat at the kitchen table on opposite ends. Oh, so he'd gone out and tried to take off with the Hyperion had he? He'd beaten her to the punch... "Where's your rebel _army_, shouldn't they be here to rescue you already?"

"Phone lines are dead and the Hyperion's radio doesn't work anymore… Think I messed up the wires while trying to fix it." He dropped the coil of red, blue and green wires on the table as evidence. "Besides, hardly anyone has a working phone in this part of the country." He sighed. "Might take a while to repair the ship."

Mila tensed and stood up, the chair legs skidded noisily on the floor. "No. I need to get out of here," She wouldn't admit it, but some of the things the rebel had told her had given her second thoughts about the Sphere - What if they already knew that she had taken off with a pirate; what if they actually did kill her, for treason? "... They'll find me!"

"It's damaged, what d'you want me to say?" He paused. "Not to mention that escaping in the Hyperion isn't exactly low profile."

"Then why do you use it?" She asked intolerantly, putting her hands on her hips; her black hair gleamed in the morning sun.

"Speed." He said simply. "I can wipe all enemies in battle."

"Great." She glared at him and sat back down on her chair. "So I'm stuck with you now."

"I didn't ask you to take me along, you know. You did that all on your own." Their eyes met. "Why did you do that anyways?" He asked out of pure confusion.

Mila glanced at the young man before her; all the while she combed her loose hair with her fingers, trying to untangle them. There was a tension between the two of them; like interest mingled with fear. Well, there was no harm in telling him now; whether she liked it or not, they were stuck together.

"I just… wouldn't be able to live with myself after killing people." She answered quickly and averted his gaze.

For a moment he said nothing, his calm features changed to puzzlement and his eyebrows knitted. "That's strange." He finally said.

Mila's cheeks flushed bright red. "Well it's not easy when someone forces you to kill-"

"No, _not that_. It's strange because you're the only guardian I've ever met who would hesitate to use her powers to subjugate others."

Mila was speechless; why was he rubbing her weakness in her face?

"Weird." He mentioned again and he ran his fingers through his short dark hair.

"_All right_, I get it…" She said, annoyed.

"That's not a flaw you know." He told her with surprising gentleness. There was something in his gaze of his; some kind of concern for her, as if she was the one in more trouble than he was. Mila's shame vanished and she smiled… and then quickly wiped the happiness off her face.

"Okay, let's make a deal." He said and he leaned forwards. "We agree to disagree right?"

"Right…" She said, wondering where he was going with this.

"And we both want to get away from the Sphere right?" His tone was confident and self-assured, as if he was used to finding agreements. Well, he was a rebel leader after all.

"Yes, I suppose..."

"Then help me fix my ship and I'll take you to a nice neutral block where you can ponder all you want about which side you want to be on. Deal?"

Mila cast him a suspicious look before extending her arm towards him. He pulled his hand back abruptly at the last second.

"_And_, we agree not to kill, harm or take the other prisoner." Mila nodded, relieved that he had been the one to say it.

"Deal." They both said at the same time and shook hands.

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><p>"Well, I think it's finished." Marcus said as he climbed out of the Hyperion's cockpit which was still docked on the little quay close to the house. Mila sat aside, her legs dangling over the edge of the dock. The sunset sky over the small, grassy block was golden pink.<p>

"Great." She said, staring at her dirty, oil smeared hands that were afflicted by numerous small cuts.

She did know basic mechanics from the Academy; they were responsible for their S-15's after all, so she was able to help Marcus when repairing the Hyperion. She had to admit that she sometimes didn't understand half of what they were doing but she followed his lead and, in the end, it worked out superbly.

"We can leave first thing tomorrow morning." He said happily, clapping his hands to get the dirt off.

Mila nodded distractedly. Not a living soul knew that they were here since the closest neighbours lived a few miles' flight away; plus, why would anyone come by a ruined farm house? What had first started out as a nerve-racking week had actually turned out to be… well, _fun_.

The weather had been perfect up to today, light winds and sunshine. And the stars… Oh, the stars… She could see the Milky Way at night, out here where there was no light pollution or smog. Marcus had even taken the time to describe to her the different constellations and the myths associated with them.

The freedom of life without a strict schedule... not having to stress about doing everything perfect… It was liberating. And it took a pirate to show her how to loosen up, to enjoy life.

And, dare she think it; they had sort of become… not _friends_ but acquaintances. Not that she would ever allow herself to voice this opinion. At first, they had argued often –and they still argued often- but as the days progressed, and Mila's guardian life shifted to the back of her thoughts as they concentrated on repairing the Hyperion, they had been forced to get along. It became gradually easier for them to speak without sparking an argument every five minutes when she got to know him better. Marcus surprised her; he wasn't the merciless, cruel criminal stereotyped at the Academy. He was surprisingly smart and... _kind_ even, now that Mila had expressed her reluctance to kill. For instance, he had stopped referring to her as guardian and started calling her Mila just like she switched rebel/pirate/idiot for Marcus.

He sat down next to her on the little wooden quay; he had unbuttoned his dark jacket because of the heat and made visible a thin undershirt that was a khaki green color, his sleeves were rolled up and his opened shirt's collar pointed to the sides. Various birds chattered and tweeted as they fluttered amongst the trees.

"This was a strange week..." Mila said.

"Yeah. Who would have thought that I'd be walking around with a _guardian_." He spat out the last word like it was something ugly and repulsive. She nudged him aside and he laughed. "So, still thinking of going back to the Sphere?" Marcus asked slyly, trying to sound casual; he was not successful.

Mila looked at the setting sun, turning the clouds from gold to pink. She'd seen too many things to prove what she had been dismissing and now all the puzzle pieces were assembling before her. The time away from it all had made things clear; the Sphere was not what she had thought. What they taught at the Academy differed completely of what they did after graduating.

Living outside the comfort of the Sphere had also given her a dose of real life. Water was not a commodity; it was vital out here. Every last drop meant the world - and to think of the Olympic-sized swimming pools they had at the Academy. She'd never fully understood the water crisis until now. Now that she had experienced real thirst, even with their reasonably filled cistern next to the house, she could deduce that the quantities of water reclaimed in taxes was unreasonable after all. It should be the other way around. The Sphere should come in aid to those dying people, it shouldn't be taking their meager resources away. This wasn't equality, she knew. People on sheltered Sphere blocks were getting more water. Somewhere, somehow, people were suffering. It was a terrible truth.

She looked at Marcus. "No, I won't go back. They lied to me." Even saying those words twisted her heart with sorrow; it was like giving up her only home.

Marcus smiled slightly. "Don't get too smug about it." She warned. "I still don't support what you're doing either."

"Fine." He said, lifting his hands defensively.

"Thanks for, you know… helping me hide and..." Her voice trailed off.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm the one thanking you. Any other guardian would have killed me right there and then. Actually, I was wondering what you were waiting for… Of course, you did knock me out…" He stared at her, a glint of reproach in his eyes.

"That was your own fault for charging at me like a maniac." She replied, not mentioning that she hadn't even done it on purpose.

He nodded his head from side to side, pondering on what he had done. "Yeah well..." He gave a small laugh, "I guess I sort of deserved that."

Mila briefly thought of what Oslo would have done to him in her place and she shivered inwardly. Oslo was a talented seijin whether others picked on him or not; he was not to be underestimated by his scrawny shape. When it came to seijin to seijin matches, he was gifted. It was lucky that she had gotten to Marcus first.

The pirate leaned back on his elbows and took a sip from his water bottle and Mila swung her legs over the void of blue sky below. "You know Mila, for a guardian I mean… You're an okay girl."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not too bad yourself, pirate."

They both laughed and their eyes met.

"Maybe when you've found your home block…" He said and looked downwards.

"Yes…"

"I could come visit you. See which side you've decided on."

"I'd like that." She answered with a smile.

An intense gaze went between them and they were silent for a moment. Mila noticed his dark eyes which contrasted against the natural shade of green in the tree leaves behind him. It was a strange eye colour; obscure from a distance, but at the moment, the green scenery was reflected on the blackness.

He was good looking; she had to admit. The way his dark hair was always messy and the constant, slight frown on his brow as if he was concentrated on a difficult mathematics question. His tall, lean frame and occasional clumsiness.

Marcus cleared his throat and stood up. Mila snapped back to reality and resisted the urge the slap her own face.

"I'm just going to-" He tripped slightly as he walked backwards towards the Hyperion, his eyes still locked onto hers. "To double check everything for tomorrow."

"Yes." Mila answered as she picked herself up too. For a moment she just stared at him. "I'll head back now – I suppose." She said, pointing at the house behind her.

"Er, yeah – I'll be here." He began assembling his tool box on the Hyperion's front hull and Mila started towards the abandoned farm house.

As soon as she was inside, she closed the door behind her and leaned back on it. She took a breath and couldn't help a smile from forming on her lips. Her cheeks were burning. Her heart was racing. She'd never felt this way before. What was going on? Was she sick? Dehydrated maybe? A week ago she'd been a successful guardian, maybe even on her way to becoming Commander one day. She had thrown it all away in an impulse to save Marcus; he was the enemy.

It was confusion beyond belief.

Mila peered downwards and noticed a small brown lump with beady black eyes looking up at her, sniffing the air. It was the rat.

Marcus had named him Pete, for reasons she could not possibly understand, and it had sort of become his pet. Marcus fed it leftovers and could even pat the small rodent, much to his delight while Mila watched incredulously. The other day, he had dared her to touch Pete, or was she too scared of the rat? So she had reached forward and the little monster had bitten her finger.

Oh, but it loved Marcus of course.

Right now, it looked up at her expectantly, reaching its little claws upwards; demanding for food. Even if the rodent was under Marcus's protection, she didn't like it coming within one metre's distance from her. In fact, she couldn't understand why Marcus liked it; he seemed to be the kind of person who liked animals, she supposed. He was quite strange this pirate... She knew there was malevolence hidden in the rat's furry face however, whether Marcus believed her or not. Why, just this morning, the little demon had stolen her shoe and she would have lost it had it not been able to fit it through the hole in the wall.

"Shoo – Go away Pete…" She took a menacing step forwards and Pete scuttled away, glancing back at her with what must have been a ratty glare before entering his hole.

Mila sat on the kitchen counter and took a sip from her water bottle, peering outside the window that gave view of an overgrown backyard and a collapsed red painted shed. Some wild blueberry bushes grew next to the ruined shed; they had eaten all the fruits during the week; somehow, they had tasted more fresh and flavoursome than the ones she had eaten at the Academy, which were at least twice as big and yet more watery.

Mila was constantly second guessing. Marcus couldn't be trusted… Of course not. He would probably set a trap to kill her or leave her on some deserted block. And yet, something inside her told her that he wouldn't, which was all the more frustrating.

Why did he treat her like this after what she had done?

He was forgiving; a characteristic that was her complete opposite. She didn't deserve this sympathy.

She hated him for being so perfect.

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><p><em>AN Well? Review! Laissez un commentaire!_


	7. Chapter 7

A/N _Once again, I don't own Skyland!_ _Thanks for the reviews people! I really appreciate it! Okay, back to the story..._

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><p>"Marcus, let's go!" Mila yelled from her position on the small wooden quay. She glanced at the large red ship docked on her right; the metal hull gleamed with dew. She could almost feel the ship trembling with excitement for the coming departure after being immobilized for so long.<p>

Early morning mist clouded the air, making it hard to see very far. The hazy tendrils crept along the wooden boards on the quay and droplets of condensed water clung to her skin and clothes. She could see Marcus's silhouette a distance away, standing in front of the house, perhaps giving it a last look before departure. They were leaving for good today, all the repairs were completed on the Hyperion.

Mila glanced around. A tree perched on the edge of the block rustled its wet leaves slowly, a lone bird cried out in the fog. It was surprisingly painful to leave this place; she knew after all that things wouldn't be the same between them afterwards. It was as if they came from entirely different dimensions. They were going back into the real world; away from the seclusion of their private little block in Babylonia.

Marcus was a pirate and she was… well, she didn't know yet. She would try to find out. She would go off on her own and try to start a new life on a nice, quiet block and Marcus would go back to his rebel base; wherever that was... Gone were the days of playful bickering, of laughing at his jokes while they repaired the ship, of stargazing at night. She would miss the sweet smell of wild flowers that drifted with the warm winds in the country side.

This was why she wanted to leave as quickly as possible and not glance back. This old house was the closest thing to a home that she had ever experienced. She would miss it.

But enough of that now, her future would be bright; she would make sure of it.

After a few minutes of impatiently tapping her foot, Marcus arrived with a rucksack slung over his shoulder. "Picked up a few things." He said as he threw the bag in the lower cabin of the ship and closed the hatch on the forwards hull. Mila hadn't brought anything along so she had no belongings to carry.

Mila joined him on the hull and they both motioned towards the pilot's seat.

They stopped.

For a moment, they were both motionless until Mila stepped back and contoured the cockpit to enter on the other side. She would let him fly. It didn't matter anymore if he had stolen the Hyperion; her loyalties had changed. Honestly, she didn't care much anymore.

"Did you forget anything?" Mila asked him as she settled in the front passenger seat. She glanced at the misty outline of the house.

"No..." Marcus looked back once more at his old home, a faraway look in his eyes. "All right, let's go." He said as he started pushing buttons and switching functions on the control panel to start up the ship.

The Hyperion gently lifted from its position on the quay and blasted off a little too fast for Mila's preference. Her heart jumped in her throat and Marcus gave a whoop of delight to the ship's sudden acceleration.

They soared away from Babylonia in dense morning grayness; a streak of crimson was just appearing over the horizon.

"How do you know we won't be spotted?" She asked.

"You worry too much." He said.

A few hours had flown by; now it was about ten thirty a.m. but still, the sky didn't clear of its morose grayness. It looked like it would be a misty day. They were many miles away from Babylonia now and they hadn't met any other ships on the way; plus, the fog was a blessing in disguise; it kept them hidden.

They talked and laughed. Mila knew it would probably be their last day together; what pirate, in his right mind, would come back to see her anyways?

Marcus detailed several neutral blocks for her to choose from; did she like country sides? Small towns? Cities were too risky in his opinion.

When the world had shattered, the blocks had grouped up because of magnetic effects to form a long, irregular strip; this was the Archipelago. The Americas therefore tended to group on one edge of the Archipelago whereas Europe, Africa, Asia and the rest of the shattered areas ensued. The occasional block would drift off; how could you explain the Australian block smack in the middle of splintered Asia? Strange it was. Hardly anything made sense in this upside down world anymore.

_Cayo Guillermo, Brennan's Hill, St-Paul_… the names swam around Mila's head.

How was she supposed to choose her new home? She told Marcus to stop with the names; she had to think about it. He kept flying, she didn't know where he was heading but she guessed he was making a few long detours to give her more time.

"Listen to this." He said after a long silence, taking out a memory chip labeled _greatest hits_ from a compartment and inserting it in a slot below the radio. "It's a collection of old songs we found. They were on Ceedees or… or something like that so we converted them." By 'we', she suspected he meant his rebel pals.

The music started playing; it was filled with loud guitars and weird sounds.

"What is this?" She asked impatiently, wondering what in the world a _Ceedee_ could be.

Marcus shrugged. "Never really listened to it actually…" He handed her a scrunched up piece of a cardboard paper. "It came along with it." He added. The worn out print on the paper spelled out; _The King_. _1960_.

_1960! That was more than two hundred years ago!_

"Wow, and you found this music?" She asked, amazed that the songs had survived this long.

"Yep." He said, amused by her astonishment.

They listened to the short playlist which Mila didn't like at first but it was starting to grow on her. It was _kind of_ catchy. "Oh look, they even printed out the lyrics." She smirked. She'd never heard something that sounded so silly.

She laughed at Marcus's unsuccessful attempt to sing one of the songs. He was getting the lyrics all wrong. It was dumb to be amused by such trivial things but, she had to admit, it was fun.

"Your turn." Marcus insisted, catching his breath after laughing.

"No way, I'm not singing." She replied between laughs. The truth was, she never sung so she didn't know how her voice would sound if she tried. "What if I sound like you?" She snickered.

_Be-Be-Be-Beeeeeepppp…_

A loud bleeping sound overpowered the music and Mila switched the radio off. Marcus eyebrows lifted as he inspected the radar screen before him.

"We're being followed." He grunted, accelerating the ship.

Mila's heart fell and a terrible, freezing sensation spread through her body. Logically, the only ones who would attempt to give chase to the Hyperion were members of the Sphere. She was as good as dead now... Of course, she still had a chance at survival; the Hyperion was capable of immeasurable speeds. Mila couldn't see any ships out the window because of the dense grey clouds. She sat on her knees and placed her palms on the cold window as she looked around outside.

_There was nothing. Wait, what was that? Oh, it was just a bird._ _No, there was something_…

Suddenly, there they were. Out of the misty air, soared three S-15's.

"I should've paid attention." Marcus mumbled angrily as he saw Mila's eyes widen with fear. He sent the Hyperion into a sudden nose dive, making Mila yelp and fall back into her seat as he swerved the ship between small blocks and pierced through dense cloud formations.

Mila resettled in her seat and peered over her shoulder again to see the ships close on their tail. "They're gaining on us…" She warned.

How had they been detected? They had taken every possible precaution to remain hidden and still the Sphere had managed to find them. It had to be a coincidence, perhaps they had run into a patroller unit by accident; otherwise the Sphere would have caught them while they were still in Babylonia. A sudden feeling flashed inside her, making her throat clench with anxiety. Oslo was in one of the ships. What was he doing there? Had he been demoted since their failed mission?

Just then, Marcus veered sideways and changed direction. It did no good however, the S-15's were still following.

"All right," He said with a smile, his thumb hovering over the trigger on the joystick. "Let's blast the-"

"No!" Mila shouted. "My friend is in there!"

Marcus glared at her. The ship continued making a wide semi-circle arc and charged to the sides of the S-15's, shooting wildly.

"What are you doing?" She screamed as she lunged for the joystick; they both wrestled for it.

"Let go!" He yelled, trying to push her off. Mila jerked it her way, making the ship go upwards and shoot into the sky instead of at the S-15's. "Who's side are you on!" He shouted harshly, his eyes were dark with fury that Mila had never seen before; she recoiled with surprise. He finally wrenched the control from her grasp and redirected the ship horizontally before accelerating towards a giant cloud formation.

It was a bulbous, white cumulonimbus cloud that extended vertically at least seven miles in length. A feathered snow-colored anvil stretched out menacingly on top of the cloud. As soon as the Hyperion entered the colossal cloud, it darkened. Water droplets clung to the windows and thunder boomed loudly, shaking the ship to its very core.

"We're in a storm." Mila muttered grimly, jumping slightly as a few hissing sparks of electricity skittered across the pointed ends of the ship.

Marcus was silent, he frowned with concentration. The radar bleeped at less frequent intervals and went silent; the S-15's were camouflaged from sight by the thick, churning mass of cloud and block fragments.

"Marcus look!" A sudden blinding light appeared in the distance; a crack of intense energy ripping the sky apart.

A lightning bolt.

It lasted just a second; Marcus managed to avoid it by jerking the joystick to the left. The Hyperion swerved onto its side and for a moment Mila felt like she was sitting on a vertical wall. Just as the laws of gravity threatened to tip her against Marcus; they were horizontal again and the thunder rumbled with cataclysmic crackle.

Whereas terror was a big factor; being so close to the lightning bolt had effect on their bodies as well. Mila felt a brief, fizzing pain jarring her bones. Her hair floated upwards and she felt awkwardly numb. Marcus's hair also stood on end and singed lightly; he clenched his teeth and attempted to keep hold on the controls with his unfeeling hands which proved to be difficult.

"Get us out!" Mila shouted with terror. Her ears were ringing with the force of the thunder and she could barely hear herself speak.

The radar screen depicted a spiraling mass of cloud stretching in every direction, the way out was unclear. Marcus cursed loudly.

A glinting surface outside the window caught Mila's attention and she gasped. It was an S-15, flying a few feet away from them.

She saw another emerge on the left side of the ship.

Whereas S-15's were slower than the Hyperion, their advanced controls were designed to persist through the toughest elements the sky manifested; they had managed to locate the pirate ship in all the confusion. "They're surrounding us." Mila whispered.

"I'll shoot them out of the sky." He warned, eyes glinting as he glanced outside the window. "Don't!" Mila urged. The S-15's approached from every direction; Mila could see the pilot flanking on her side.

She did a double take. The pale face was unmistakable; it was Oslo. For a moment, their eyes met and a look of confusion went between them. Oslo just stared in disbelief.

_Is that you Mila? Mila... What are you doing with this pirate!_ He communicated telepathically, lifting his arms to indicate his confusion.

_Oslo, don't shoot us down! _

_You saved him? _He understood as she showed him some of her memories. _Why? _

_They would have killed him. I couldn't let that happen, I'm sorry… _

_The rebel deserves to die._ He replied.

_It's complicated! The Sphere lied to us- _

_Enough! If you want to join the pirates, go ahead. _He thought back, jabbing her mind painfully before shutting her out.

_Oslo! _

But his mind was out of reach now and on cue the shots starting hammering the Hyperion, hitting the hull and deflecting off the cockpit window. "Marcus!" She yelled in alarm.

He peered around wildly, looking for an escape route. An enemy ship soared above them and a blast rattled them slightly. They were surrounded. On the left, right and top of the Hyperion were flanking S-15's.

_But there's no one under us…_ Mila heard, as ideas flitted out into the air, powered by Marcus's feverish concentration. She was going to ask him what was happening when lightning struck again.

The luminous lightning flash manifested farther in front of them and Marcus flipped a switch on the control panel. Mila waited for something to happen but they were still soaring forwards; on a collision course with the lightning bolt. The purplish air soared outside the window and… suddenly they were still for a moment and the S-15's sped past, unable to stop their momentum. Mila glanced at Marcus in confusion.

The rear thrusters faded; the Hyperion drifted slightly and then started free falling. The S-15's minimized in size at a surprising speed as the Hyperion dropped away. Mila looked up and caught glimpse of the ships scattering from the lightning. One was too late; it caught fire, spun out of control and exploded. And then, she couldn't see them anymore for the cloud was too thick. Mila clung to her chair for dear life, waiting for Marcus to retake the controls.

Down and down they fell through the dense dark clouds, the wind billowing hail across the ship. Now Marcus's hands flew across the controls as he attempted to take control of the ship once more.

Mila's heart jumped in her throat and her fingernails dug into the arms rests, her eyes wide with terror. "Get us out! Get us out!" She exclaimed.

"The winds are too strong!" He shouted as he piloted the ship into a dive, trying to stabilize it despite the raging winds. Mila's saw an expression of fear on his face for the first time. Now she was terrified too. The ship was at the mercy of the storm; it spun once on itself but thankfully stayed upright as it dived downwards.

Mila didn't remember screaming but she must have because her throat felt dry and scratchy now. The ship was spinning in the darkness, narrowly missing a miniature block that lightning destroyed to fragments a second later with a deafening blast. The lightning bolt divided, like roots of a tree, and spread out in every direction.

Mila felt the familiar numbness coming on again as the discharge hit the ship. Her ears popped with the roar of the thunder and she couldn't hear anything. Everything was just a blur of confusion. Fiery white lightning tendrils crawled across the Hyperion's hull. They slithered over the windows and seeped through the glass. They began darting over the passengers; Mila's heart beat wildly. She gasped at the painful jolt of electricity and quickly protected herself with a seijin glow that warded the sparks away from her.

This gave her an idea. She had to stabilize the ship. Would this work? Probably not, but she had to try.

She lifted her arms and dissipated her protective seijin force field, inviting the lightning tendrils to come. The hissing serpents of light glided forwards; they scrunched up in her outstretched palms in mesmerizing knots of zigzagging light and dissolved through her skin. She was harnessing the energy from the storm, her arms were starting to glow bright blue.

Marcus slumped against the window with a sigh, his arms dropped to his sides as electric filaments coursed across his body.

Mila closed her eyes and screamed out in effort; now her entire body was pulsing with blue light. It felt strange to absorb lightning; such a primordial form of natural energy. It was never a good thing to tamper with Mother Nature and, even if the feeling of immense power was intoxicating, it was overwhelming. If she wasn't careful, it would burn her up from the inside.

Slowly, very slowly, the ship was enveloped in the heavenly blue glow of her seijin energy as she struggled to stop their death fall.

At first nothing happened. She was going to die...

But then she could feel it; the ship was decelerating, calming down; she could sense it in the pit of her stomach. The Hyperion steadied itself gradually, by which time the cloud was getting lighter and the thunder booms were distancing.

Unexpectedly, brilliant blue sky appeared as the ship descended out of the maelstrom and into nothingness below. The winds died down and stopped twirling the ship about. From the underside, the swirling storm stretched out for miles; bubbling and crackling with pure energy. The surviving S-15's were nowhere in sight.

The radar was clear now, no longer obscured by the electric storm. The ship righted. There was a humming sound as the ship picked up speed. The Hyperion accelerated to send them in a forty-five degree angle drop instead of a dizzying free fall.

Mila dropped her arms and the blue glow coating her body disappeared. It was sunny blue skies all around whereas the above giant was still raging. Her vision narrowed and she felt terribly weak all of a sudden; she forbade herself from closing her eyes. She reached for the controls to keep the ship a safe distance from the above clouds; the Hyperion gathered speed despite the singed, slightly smoking hull.

"Marcus?" She asked weakly.

He was still hunched sideways, his face squished against the window. He was awake, glaring at her; probably just temporarily paralyzed. When she had absorbed the energy from the lightning, he had been hit by the pulsing discharge of her seijin power.

_Oops._

She gave him an _I'm-sorry_ look, pushed him back against the seat and leaned forwards to pilot the Hyperion to safety.

She didn't hesitate to accelerate at full speed to get away. She couldn't believe what Oslo had said. And he'd tried to _kill_ her! His only friend. Was he in the ship that exploded in a fiery mess? No, she decided. She would have felt something if he had died. She tried not to think about him right now.

Something wet was trickling down the side of her face. Mila reached up cautiously and touched her right ear. Her hand was smeared with blood. She cursed some of the pirate slang that she had picked up from Marcus. She hoped her hearing wouldn't be permanently damaged; everything sounded muffled, as if a box was covering her head.

Within a few minutes, she had distanced them away from the gargantuan storm and the radar was clear from any approaching S-15's. Had Oslo made it out of the storm yet? She didn't know. Thankfully, her hearing was less muted now which was a good sign.

Marcus groaned and flexed his hands experimentally; he rubbed his eyes and swatted Mila's dark hair from his face and mouth. He looked at the seijin who was now practically sitting on his lap.

"M-Mila…" He stuttered, his heart still beating madly in his chest. "I'll t-take it from here."

Mila dropped back in her seat, utterly exhausted.

"I s-saw what you did back there." He stammered. "Sa-aved us." He added. If the ship had just kept twirling around in the winds, it might have collided with the small blocks that littered this area.

Mila was too tired to answer; she could barely hear what he was saying anyways. It sounded like incomprehensible mumbling.

"Never… do that… again." She panted menacingly as she leaned back on her seat and crossed her arms. She closed her eyes and fell into well needed sleep.

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><p><em>AN The king is Elvis by the way. Logically, his music could have had a good chance at survival since he was such an icon which is why I mentioned him. It's just for fun; a little reference to the past. See how I wrote CD (Ceedee), it's because they don't know how to pronounce it._

_So, leave a review!/Laissez un commentaire!_


	8. Chapter 8

A/N I DON'T OWN SKYLAND.

_Please_ _review._

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><p>Mila jerked out of sleep and opened her eyes to the dark cockpit of the Hyperion. She was still curled up on the front passenger seat of the ship.<p>

"Ouch." Her skin was burnt in several places and her close-fitting Sphere uniform was sprinkled with singed holes; even her shoe laces were scorched. Something smelled like smoke; she realized it was herself. She reached up to feel her loose hair which was brittle and pointing wildly in every direction. She then looked at her reflection in the window on her right and gasped.

Mila moaned slightly as she attempted to smooth the tangled mess down. The star strewn sky was still outside; the clouds drifted lazily in the distance. It now occurred to her that she was alone. Why had they stopped?

A figure was moving on the Hyperion's hull outside. It was Marcus, probably inspecting for any damage caused by the storm. They were docked next to a strand of small, rocky blocks speckled with pine trees that camouflaged them from sight from any approaching enemies. She opened the window and instant icy winds surrounded her and blew inside the cockpit. Mila poked her head out and looked at Marcus.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

Marcus jumped and dropped a tool he was holding with a loud _clang!_ He clutched his chest and sighed. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Well, sorry." Mila said, cringing at his loud yell which sent jolts of pain in her ear. At least she could hear everything clearly now.

He muttered to himself and dropped the fallen object in the tool box before coming towards her. "You're awake." He stated as he leaned forwards against the open windows. "You've been asleep all day. I just stopped at nightfall to check for damages."

Mila held back from laughing. His hair stood in every direction and, like her, he was covered in burns and his clothes were scorched. Grease smeared his forehead. She snorted.

"What's so funny?" He demanded.

"It's just-" She doubled over from laughing too hard. "Look at yourself…" Here she laughed hysterically.

He frowned angrily as he peered at his reflection on the window. "Yeah, well you don't look so hot yourself."

Mila stopped and they glared at each other momentarily before both succumbing to laughter again.

When they had their breath back they proceeded to more serious matters. Marcus explained that the Hyperion would be fine for the rest of the voyage; the winds had battered the vessel but it had made a quick recovery. Marcus had had no choice but to stop to check for damages, but the good news was that they were now in the outskirts of the Archipelago; completely hidden. Where those Sphere patrol ships had come from was still a mystery.

"Didn't see any ships all afternoon." He said and Mila relaxed a little. Marcus wiped the grease from his forehead on his sleeve. "I'm starving. I brought some provisions from home. I'll go get them, be right back."

He fetched the rucksack in the cabin below and came back with more canned goods while Mila waited in her seat. He climbed inside and sat next to her; he handed over a preserve jar from his backpack.

"Oh good, my favorite. Pickled beets…" Mila exclaimed sarcastically as they settled with their meals. "Wow, did your father stock up for apocalypse?" She asked with a small laugh, amazed at the amount of food that had survived all those years in the abandoned farm house. Well, he had been a farmer; these people usually stocked their foodstuffs in the cellar.

Marcus didn't answer; he just kept eating in silence.

That was a stupid thing to say, she realised quickly.

She was starving so she ate her canned vegetables in a matter of minutes. She sipped the water bottle that she kept clipped on her belt; it was half-empty now. Marcus yawned and stretched.

"You should get some sleep. I can keep watch..." Mila told him. Marcus nodded and grabbed the rucksack. He stood up but the old bag, which was unzipped, spilled its contents all over the cockpit floor. He cursed and started picking up the objects rather quickly; they were mostly other jars or tin cans that he had taken from the house. He staggered around, hurriedly cramming the fallen items in the bag, his eyes wide. Mila frowned at his behaviour.

Something had fallen at her feet. She picked it up; it was a cracked picture frame that had escaped from the bag. His parents looked at her from behind the splintered glass. For a moment she just stared at them in surprise. Then Marcus roughly snatched it from her hands and stuffed it in the bag.

"You took this from home-" She said. He always acted so laid back and cool that she was surprised.

He missed them.

After picking up the two last runaway objects, Marcus climbed out of the cockpit silently.

"Marcus?"

He made his way to the cabin on the outside deck and descended down the hatch. Mila felt like an intruder. Perhaps he hadn't wanted her to see that he had taken the photograph with him. It was none of her business but Mila felt inclined to go see him.

She stood up, wincing slightly because she was sore, and made her way outside; she waited for him on the metal hull. The air was cold and minty here; they must be further up north, she decided as she looked at the tall pine trees and glimpsed some patches of icy snow on the forest floor. The small woodland blocks littered the sky, like a procession of polished grey meteorites. It was all trees; no sign of human life.

She heard Marcus moving around down there and she waited until he climbed back up. It took a few minutes; she pretended to be busy looking at the sky. Finally, the sound of heavy boots clunking against metal rungs could be heard as Marcus exited the cabin. Mila glanced at him from the corner of her eye as his head appeared out of the hole. He climbed out and slammed the hatch shut. Mila turned and looked at him; it was apparent that he was distraught - or angry; Mila had difficulty knowing.

"Sorry." She whispered after a long, uncomfortable silence. She didn't know what else to say. It was obvious that he hated her because she had been part of the Sphere. He had always hated her, she thought darkly, he had just hidden it to remain impersonal. But it was clear; she represented the Sphere, no matter what happened...

The Sphere had destroyed his family.

"I wish I had never joined the Sphere." She murmured sincerely. She wanted to go back in time and change it but, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't. "Your family didn't deserve what they… what _we_ did to them." Her voice broke and she looked down with shame.

The whistling winds filtered through the pine trees, filling in the silence. Mila's eyes moistened with angry tears that threatened to spill.

Marcus wiped the back of his hand against his eyes and sniffed loudly. He didn't want to show her his emotions but she could see why he had gone into the lower cabin. Mila wasn't going to tell him that she knew why though.

How she hated herself at this moment! Everything she had believed in was wrong. The one thread of hope that the Sphere wasn't all bad had dissipated this morning when Oslo, her _friend_, had tried to shoot down the Hyperion.

It hurt.

Now, she could see clearly: the Sphere truly was just a ruthless oppression. Mila had no possible way of knowing if the pirates themselves were any better, but she did know that the Sphere was cruel and unjust towards its people. The citizens of skyland were suffering. Maybe the pirates needed to steal water in order to survive. Maybe. And to think of all those hours she used to plot with Oslo about the Prophecy. About how they would ultimately rule the world… How sickening, how _repulsive_.

She had changed.

And now, she had lost Marcus too… He had always hated her, hadn't he? She was alone. But she wanted to be with him; it was suddenly clear to her that she felt like she belonged when she was with this pirate. It was so strange.

The girl glanced at him trough her watery, distorted vision. What was he waiting for? Why wasn't he yelling at her?

The pirate breathed quietly and stepped forward; he stood before the ex-guardian but she looked away.

"Look, it's not your fault." He said tiredly, throwing her completely off guard. Mila shook her head angrily.

Where was his anger and hate? Didn't he want to scream at her and at everything she represented?

"It is my fault Marcus." She snapped, "You were right all along and- and I've been putting you in danger. I almost killed us back there when you shot at the S-15's." She stopped and wiped her eyes hastily, taking a step backward. "And I just don't understand why you helped me."

"Mila," He said. "I wouldn't have helped you if I thought you were a murderer." Seeing how she didn't feel any better he continued. "A guardian is a cruel pawn the Sphere uses to terrorize people." She looked up. "You don't represent this description in any way."

"But-"

"You were lied to. It isn't your fault_._" He repeated. How ironic that this was specifically the argument that had convinced her to save him during her first mission not so long ago.

Mila held her arms and avoided his gaze; they were mere inches from each other now. The stress of the week had finally gotten to her. At the Academy, they had been told time and time again to toss emotions aside. Any infraction on this rule resulted in severe punishment so Mila had conditioned herself to being indifferent. It seems however that she was unsuccessful seeing how easily she let herself go.

"I should leave-" She started saying and Marcus came closer, getting rid of the distance that separated them. Before she knew it, he had wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in a comforting hug. For a moment she was surprised and rigid in his arms, wanting to push him away. But then, surprising herself in the process, she hugged him too, crossing her arms behind his back. She leaned her head on his chest; he smelled like burnt leather. She liked the smell.

Mila never hugged anyone; it was frowned upon back in school. It felt good to have human contact, to touch someone else, to feel warmth and comfort. To hear the reassuring thumping of his heart against her ear. It was the most natural thing in the world and yet, it was something that she lacked.

Oddly, she felt safe now; this pirate, this outlaw… She cared for him. Even if she had been telling herself otherwise.

"Okay?" Marcus asked. She looked up and their eyes met. They were inches from each other's faces now and she gave a half smile. The same look that went between them on the little quay in Babylonia returned, this time it was stronger. Mila's heart leapt with happiness though she had no idea why.

Their foreheads touched; for a moment they remained that way, unmoving, just looking at each other.

Mila closed her eyes for a second. It only took that one second for Marcus to lose his composure.

He bent and kissed her lips softly. It was short and sweet; the corner of Mila's lips curved into a smile. He pulled back, realizing what he had just done.

"This is crazy." He whispered.

"I know." Mila answered before placing her arms behind his neck and kissing him back.

How ridiculous they must look! A beaten, worn out couple composed of two supposed enemies. Mila didn't care. It was as if time had stopped and they were the only two people in Skyland.

The soothing sound of the wind filtering through the pine tree needles blocked out any noise. The faint bleeping sound coming from the cockpit was masked too.

Mila finally pulled back from the kiss and they gazed into each other's eyes.

It was a good kiss.

A kiss that awakened the butterflies inside her; that ignited a happy, warm feeling right in the middle of her chest. Filling the void that had been there for so long.

They smiled, lost in each other's gaze. It was at that precise moment that Mila knew she wanted to spend her life with this young man.

And then it happened.

Their embrace was cut short as Marcus yelped and drew his hand to the side of his neck.

"What?" Mila asked, startled with his random outburst.

Something flashed in the darkness.

Her eyes set on a small glinting line poking out between his fingers. There was a metallic something sticking out of his neck. At first, Mila thought it was some kind of colourful bug. At least, she hoped blindly that it was an insect. She pulled his hand away to take a closer look and gasped. It was a dart. She had learned all about these darts at the Academy.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed, pulling out the dart.

It was no longer than his little finger and infinitely thin; a carefully detailed 'S' was engraved in its side. The Sphere. Mila's face was a reflection of his own dread; she could do nothing but stand there in shock however as Marcus gaped with disbelief. He swayed in place suddenly, looking rather white in the moonlight. It was too late; already his vision was blurring up.

"Mila…" He breathed weakly before his knees buckled.

"Marcus!"

Mila caught him under the arms and tried to keep him up as he leaned against her, his head resting over her shoulder. The diminutive needle fell out of his weak grasp and rebounded on the hull with a series of small _clinks!_

It had all happened so quickly that Mila had trouble understanding.

The Sphere was here.

She teetered under his weight as she looked around for the assailant; scared to feel the pinprick of a needle on her back. She saw only the looming shadows projected by the swaying pine trees wherever her eyes darted.

"Mila, I found you at last." A cold voice said. The girl spun around and saw a guardian standing on a distanced block, surrounded by brigadiers who aimed their guns in her direction. Two battered S-15's were just visible behind a few forested blocks in the distance. How could this be possible? This was a terrible nightmare...

"Oslo." Mila whispered with cold dread. Hadn't they lost Oslo in the storm? How did he find the Hyperion... Had he detected it on the radar? "What have you done?" She shouted, her fear morphing into anger.

The moonlight gleamed on Oslo's white-blond hair as he glared in her direction. "Don't worry; he's just going to have a nice long nap before _we_ turn him in."

Marcus was leaning heavily on her now. She couldn't keep him up anymore. Mila wrapped an arm around his waist, pulled his right arm was over her shoulders, and bent down carefully. The pirate fell to his knees, his palms on the freezing metal hull; his eyes widened as he took in what the guardians were saying. Mila stood back up.

"We?" She asked.

"Yes, _we_!" Oslo shouted. "I've been covering for you all this time Mila. I thought you deserved another chance. And we will finish our first mission together."

"You can't tell me what to do!" She yelled angrily.

"Yes I can!" He answered, his voice shaking with fury. "You betrayed me…" He pointed at Marcus. "You fell for this criminal! I will watch him die and so will you. Maybe it will bring some sense into you head-"

"No! Oslo, they _lied_ to us. The Sphere isn't what we thought!"

"LIES! Now be silent!"

Mila looked at Marcus who was now lying on his back, struggling to stay conscious. She bent down next to him and hooked one arm under his neck to lift him a little and held the side of his face with her free hand. She could feel Oslo's gaze burning on her skin.

"Marcus. _Marcus_…" His eyes were slowly closing. "Stay with me now. Don't fall asleep."

"You… set me up." He whispered softly.

"No, no I didn't, I swear." She assured him and slapped his face lightly so that his eyelids lifted a little. "You have to believe me, please…"

He looked at her and from his gaze Mila could understand that he didn't believe her. "Marcus…" She pleaded and a lone tear rolled down her cheek and fell onto his forehead.

He was gone.

Mila lowered her arms and rested his head on the hull carefully. It was no use trying to wake him now. She stood up shakily and glared in Oslo's direction.

No, no... This couldn't be happening… This was a nightmare. She had to be dreaming!

"Now remain still or I'll tell my brigs to do the same to you." Oslo menaced with a self-satisfied smile.

Mila shook with fury. How dare he come here and cut short their kiss! How dare he! Ordering her around like she was a child! "You're sick! I can't believe I was friends with you in School…" She shouted.

"Our destinies brought us together, remember the Prophecy." He yelled back.

"To hell with that prophecy Oslo! I don't care anymore! I. Don't. Care!" She shouted venomously, throwing her arms upwards to show her irritation. "The only reason I was your friend was pity. You were always alone… and now I think I should have left it that way!" She was satisfied by the dejected look on his pale face; the way his fists clenched with anger.

Oslo's face suddenly went red. "That's not true…" He answered uncertainly.

"You know it is." She spat out. She wanted to hurt him, to cause him anguish.

"Brigs!" He ordered in a quavering voice and the robots lifted their gun barrels.

Mila gasped and ducked just as she heard the darts whiz past her. She knew it took time for the brigadiers to reload this particular ammunition so scrambled to her feet, grabbed Marcus's arms and started dragging him towards the cockpit.

"Stop!" Oslo ordered. He didn't have his seijin powers in the darkness of night.

The girl pushed Marcus not-so-carefully inside the cockpit where he slumped on the floor. Mila jumped in herself, falling all over the place, her hands reaching towards the controls. She closed the cockpit windows just as a sprinkle of darts impacted with the glass.

_Clink, clink, clink! _

Mila could see Oslo gesturing to the brigadiers with anger; they were heading towards the S-15's now but she still an advantage over them. She fumbled over the controls in her panic, forgetting everything.

She had to tap the screen… No, flick that switch. What was wrong with her, why couldn't she remember?

A silvery flash caught her attention in the gloom. Mila froze with fear and spotted a dart sunk into her arm.

"No… No, no, _no_!" She yelled in despair.

The girl already felt drowsy, she couldn't see straight. She pulled the needle out with fury and threw it away.

Her eyes were closing.

_No, stay awake!_

Mila slapped her own face in a last attempt to stay conscious; but to no avail. A dark blanket of sleep enveloped her; clouding her thoughts and numbing her senses. It felt so good to give in to the shadows, not to think.

_No, don't fall asleep! Think of the Hyperion, you need to start the ship…_

The controls swam in front of her eyes; there were too many gauges, meters and buttons. Suddenly, the idea of piloting a ship seemed ridiculously impossible.

_So tired._ _Maybe just a little nap… No, I mustn't!_

She couldn't see now, everything was black. She was blind.

_So, so sleepy._

Mila closed her eyes and fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

* * *

><p>AN _Honestly: who was expecting this to happen? Marcus and Mila were outside so they did not hear the alarm go off inside the closed cockpit, which is why the Sphere remained hidden._

_Leave a review/Laissez un commentaire!_


	9. Chapter 9

A/N I DON'T OWN SKYLAND...

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><p>Sleep. A dark, deep sleep with no dreams. It was so profound that Mila found herself forgetting reality. What was real anyways? Only the darkness, there was nothing else.<p>

_Wake up._

It was a tremendous sense of well being, not having to think or worry about anything. What was there to be worried about? Absolutely nothing.

Nil.

Zero.

_Wake up… _

Wait, the sleep was leaving. No, she didn't want it to leave… Slowly but surely the dark veil was fading away; consciousness was just within reach. Glittering, like a plate of light, like the surface of water.

_It's too bright; I don't want to wake… Yes, you must!_

Why was her conscience nagging her now? Why should she open her eyes? There was nothing. Nothing.

Wait.

She felt a knot of anxiety tighten inside her chest. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. She couldn't remember what the problem was though. For an alarming instant, she realized that she remembered nothing at all.

_Mila, my name is Mila. Of course I remember: why am I being so ridiculous?_

She was awake now but she kept her eyes closed, her eyelids were so heavy, she trailed her fingers on the surface she was lying on. It was cold and smooth; that was unusual, though she didn't know why.

_It's cold. I'm sore._ Her hazy thoughts confirmed.

Her muscles ached from lying on this icy, hard floor. What a strange word… _Floor._ She was lying on the floor; she wasn't in her bed….

She snapped her eyes open and sat up abruptly, a little too fast for the darkness seemed to spin and churn nauseously. Where was she? It was completely black. She couldn't see her own hand that she lifted inches from her face. Had she overslept and now she was late for class? If so, why was it so dark and why was she lying on the ground? No, no, she didn't go to the Academy anymore…

_This must be what it's like to be blind._ She thought dully as she sat in the darkness.

'_Blind, I'm blind…_'

Someone had said this before. Yes, it was a boy. Even as she pictured him in her mind, sitting in the back seat of a ship, she couldn't tell who he was exactly. His name was… well, yes it was Marcus. Marcus Farrell.

_Marcus._

A sudden flow of memories flashed with gripping speed in her drugged mind.

The storm.

The kiss.

The Sphere.

Oslo.

Her thoughts cleared and panic took over.

"Marcus?" She tried to shout but it came out as a raspy whisper. Her voice echoed back to her and her ears could distinguish that she was in a small room.

She stood up, ignoring the droplets of lights that swam in her field of vision, and started running her hands along the freezing, metal wall with feverish panic. At some point she felt a groove in the wall and followed it with her fingers. It was a long zigzag; horizontal from the left and then it dropped and went horizontal again. Like an inverted 'S'. Most Sphere doors opened that way; the large insignia was built into the metal. There was no handle; the only way to open it was from the outside.

Having figured the width of the room by now, she was certain to be alone. Where was Marcus? She groaned in frustration and kicked the door.

"Hey! LET… ME… OUT!" She screamed as she battered and punched the door with uncontainable dread until her fists were bruised and bloodied. The door remained annoyingly unscathed.

After a few minutes of yelling up a storm, she sat down in discouragement with her back to the wall and her eyes fixed on the patch of darkness that she had identified as her only way out of the room. She was a prisoner in a cell somewhere. She was probably at some Sphere base by now, assuming she had been asleep for several hours already. Oslo had captured them and most likely locked them in separate rooms.

_Marcus is fine_, she lied to herself, _he's just on the other side of this wall in the next cell_. _He has to be._

Suddenly, the door opened with a hiss and she was blinded by white light; she lifted her hand to shield her eyes. There was a figure standing in the rounded doorway. She stood up and narrowed her eyes; pale face, blond hair. Oslo. The guardian walked slowly as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"Good news." He whispered urgently as he approached her. Mila just glared at him. "They believe my cover-up story Mila, so you can come back."

"What are you talking about?" She asked loudly and he shushed her.

"You can rejoin the Sphere." He continued, his eyes darting around to make sure no one was overhearing them. "I told them you had been kidnapped by the pirate…"

"What?" She exclaimed and Oslo squinted at the noise.

"Stop yelling!" He murmured angrily before continuing with his story. "You can come back and-"

"How did you find us?" She interrupted and he smiled slightly, obviously proud of himself.

"You left us a nice trail to follow Mila; I mean, a long blue seijin energy line in the sky… It gave us an approximate direction of your whereabouts. We searched around for a while and sure enough, there you were…"

The storm. When the Hyperion had been plunging them to their deaths, she had enveloped the ship in a blue light. It left a long strip of glowing energy in the sky. An arrow basically, that Oslo had followed. It was all her fault.

"… and I lost my temper in the storm Mila …" He paused. "But you can come back now."

Mila was speechless, still shocked that she had set a trap for Marcus, without actually realizing it.

"They insist that you come back with me to finish the job." Oslo continued.

"Finish the job…" She repeated, perplexed.

"Well yes, seeing how they're already interrogating him we can just kill-"

_Oh no… They're interrogating him already? How long have I been out? _

"No." She said.

She had never hated a person so much. Telling her what to do with her life; forcing her to take part in an organization that she no longer wanted to be a part of. Oslo was supposed to be her friend! How could he do this to her? Oslo had always been shy and quiet; perhaps the dark gleam in his eyes hadn't just harboured intelligence. It had also hidden cruelty. She just wanted to reach forwards, grab his scrawny neck and strangle him right there. Her hand twitched eagerly.

Oslo lifted an eyebrow and took a step back. Maybe she had thought that too loudly…

"You fell for a _pirate_ Mila." Oslo muttered furiously. "You should know better… Matching up with non-seijins." He snarled. "Did you not listen in Genetics class? They're inferior…"

Mila felt her temper flare, like a volcano about to erupt. These were lies. Marcus was not stupid or mindless. She thought briefly of idiotic seijins in her classroom earlier this year who couldn't even grasp the concept of basic mathematics.

"Shut up Oslo before I-"

"Before you what? You're in no position to be giving out threats Mila. Can't you see I'm saving your career… your life!" The young man clenched his fists angrily and Mila did not care for the dark look in his eyes.

Mila watched him intently, prepared to fight back if he decided to throw a punch her way.

"I'm just trying to fulfill the prophecy." He continued, this time remembering to keep his tone down. His fists uncoiled slowly. "You know it's about us. You're the Lady of Light whether you want to be or not!"

"You can't force destiny Oslo! And besides, I've changed my mind. I'm not going to waste my life running after a prophecy anymore. There are more important things-"

"Really Mila? More important things than the reunification of Skyland?" He asked threatheningly. "Besides, I don't think you have a choice."

Mila paled with disbelief. "What's wrong with you? You're completely mental you know that?"

Oslo lifted a hand to silence her. "Look, there's a washroom down the corridor…" His eyes set on the rat's nest of hair on her head. "You can get ready and then we'll go." He turned to leave but stopped. "Oh and don't try anything silly, you're on surveillance." With that said, he strode away.

* * *

><p>Mila was in front of a spotless mirror, in a luxurious bathroom, trying to untangle her knotted hair. She grasped the hair brush that had been set aside for her on the counter and started combing her hair with furious intensity.<p>

Plenty of escape plans rushed into her mind but none of them would work and she knew it. How could she escape a Sphere base, which is what she figured this place was, with a wanted criminal? She couldn't. Plus, she didn't know which state she'd find him in. What would they have done to him? Torture most likely. Oh no, not Marcus. She couldn't bear to think of him being in pain.

She cursed under her breath. How could she ever have been part of the Sphere? How could she have been so blind?

It took her a while but she managed to brush down her black hair which she arranged in two light braids down her back. Then she washed up and took off her tattered grey uniform which she dumped in the trash bin. She found a neatly folded pile of clothes waiting for her on a small end table; it was a navy blue uniform with a white Sphere insignia on the back. She hesitated for a second and then pulled it on. It was made like her old uniform except for a refreshing flash of color; it was a form-fitting outfit with a belt and brand new flat soled, knee-high black boots. She took a few steps and was glad to see that the boots weren't too heavy, the seemed to mold perfectly to her feet. Fashionable clothes by Sphere standards.

Once she was done, she took a look at herself. Was this the same person that had once dreamed of taking over Skyland? No, she decided. She had changed. She had experienced friendship that the Sphere would never be able to replace. Feelings weren't an obstacle, she thought, they were only human. And she was determined to save Marcus, whatever the consequences. Perhaps she was a little crazy but she simply didn't care anymore.

She left the bathroom and wandered down the windowless corridor; on one end of the hallway there was the door that lead to her cell but she couldn't see what lay ahead though, for there was minimal lighting. She looked down; the floor was lit from the inside by white lights but the corridor remained shadowy. She arrived at the exit which materialized out of the darkness. It opened to reveal two brigadiers who were going to 'escort' her. Where, she didn't know. She decided to play along so she didn't resist when they each grabbed one of her arms and lead her away. She couldn't see much of this place since they were always in dimly lit metallic hallways.

They came to an elevator and the doors closed with a _ding!_ This left her in an awkward situation where she was squished between two robots in a closed space while annoyingly clichéd music played. She saw the floor numbers file past on a little screen until a cool female voice announced; "Ground floor."

They came out into a large entrance hall, lined with floor to ceiling windows. There was a long, computerized reception desk in the middle of the empty great hall. A secretary at the desk glanced her way and smiled.

"Don't worry dear, the brigs know the way." She said, in a reassuring voice as if people were dragged off by brigs on a regular basis here.

Mila glanced at her in confusion as she was marched towards the exit but the woman was once again busy with the touch screen on her desk. Mila now understood; the secretary was under the impression that she had just gotten rescued from a terrible kidnapping.

The glass door panels slid inwards as they stepped outside into a large courtyard thick with groomed hedges, and a beautiful fountain surrounded by benches. The sky was white, like it would be on the chilly winter months, and the sub-zero breeze was freezing her fingers already. It wasn't the block she had lived on a while ago; that was certain. She had no idea where they were leading her now. Still... why did everything look so familiar?

They walked towards a giant, lustrous building at least forty stories high.

Then it hit her.

This looked exactly like the tower she used to marvel at from her dorm room window at the Guardian Academy. In the distance, on a separated block, the building had looked like a sparkling spire, with its many windows reflecting the sunlight.

She now understood that she was back at the Academy, back to square one. This was a neighboring block to the Academy, where the faculty and sphere officials lived. This was also where the only ships were found so that students couldn't escape. This must've been the closest Sphere base so Oslo had taken them here.

Discouragement spread through her body. Luck was clearly not on her side.

Up an elevator, down some unknown passages and through a door. Mila could have destroyed the brigadiers but what good would that have done? She had to get to Marcus first and then figure something out.

Finally, she arrived at her destination and the brigs left. She entered a great, circular lobby, with the usual reflective metal walls but this time the room had been outfitted with opulent armchairs and sofas and the windows gave view of the white sky. Oslo stood there, waiting for her; in the back of the room was a bolted metal door. The sumptuous seats looked out of place in this lobby which was a waiting room of some kind.

Oslo wore a white uniform which made his pale complexion look sickly, his blond hair was so light that it looked like bubbly soap suds. His grey eyes were locked on hers; like two expressionless tunnels.

"You look good." He noted. Mila felt her stomach churn.

_Won't be able to say the same about you after I beat you up. _Mila was careful to keep her thoughts to herself this time though and she smiled the sweetest, innocent smile she could manage.

"Thank you."

Oslo seemed slightly surprised by her reaction as he sat in an armchair. Mila sat on the opposing sofa and crossed her legs.

"Thanks for saving me Oslo... I was confused and now I understand that I was wrong."

Oslo raised an eyebrow. "Nice try." He brooded.

"I swear!" She retorted.

He just shrugged and drummed his fingers on the chair's armrests.

"What are we doing here?" She inquired politely, looking at her nails.

"Waiting until they're done with him so we can go in." He answered haughtily and glanced at her.

Mila gulped anxiously and buffed her nails in the most indifferent manner she could feign. "I really am sorry Olli." She lied.

He was silent.

"You know, when you told me about the Prophecy…" He lifted his eyes with interest. "Well, that's what made me realize my faults. I am the Lady of Light and I want to rule Skyland with you. And I will; it's destiny." She paused, knowing that she now had his full attention. "And I'll do everything to prove my loyalty to the Sphere… and to you…"

"You kissed him." He sulked.

"It meant nothing." She assured him. He straightened up, unable to hide his happiness.

"It's me and you. Like old times." Mila said, throwing in another fake smile.

"Well then, we can start by getting rid of him… That'll slow down the rebellion." He smirked and Mila kept her anger to herself.

"And… did they get any information out of him?" She asked.

"No. He's stubborn."

Whereas seijins could read people's memories, they could only do so if the subject let them into their minds, or was unaware that their thoughts were being infiltrated. Normal people were able to control who entered their own minds. That's why they had to convince someone to let them read their memories. Torture was often most effective for this.

Oslo's eyes set on her and narrowed to slits. "He didn't tell me anything." She assured him and he lightened up. It was true; he hadn't said anything about his rebel lifestyle to her, she felt a little hurt by this.

A muffled yell split the silence and Mila stood up. That was Marcus.

Oslo eyed her suspiciously and she sat back down. "I guess the walls aren't completely sound proof…" he joked.

Mila gave a fake laugh but inside she was in turmoil. She had to resist the urge to run for the bolted metal door and help Marcus. She couldn't just burst through the wall and take on the guardian, brigadiers or whoever was in there. She'd certainly lose, especially in her weakened state. It was relatively silent once more and Oslo's leg jittered restlessly.

She was taken out of her thoughts as she heard footsteps behind her; someone had entered the room. Mila glanced back to see a maid who was busy organizing a trolley stacked with warm beverages and an assortment of cakes and cookies. She had fixed her wavy, light brown hair in a bun. She shuffled over and stood by the side of the opposing sofas.

Mila almost shouted out in surprise but stopped herself at the last second; it came out as more of a hiccup thankfully.

The servant was Katie.

She was hunched over, her pale face was paler than usual and the freckles on her nose stood out. She had lost weight, there was the slightest blue hue under her right eye; a fading bruise.

"Can I offer you both something to drink?" She asked them, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. Oslo waved his hand dismissively but Mila glanced back at the table which hovered a few inches off the floor.

"I'll come see what you have…" Mila said, in hopes of talking with her privately.

"She can bring the table over now can't she?" Oslo snapped and he glared at Katie who scurried away immediately. She came back with the table; Mila stood and pretended to be busy inspecting the many different cookies. She gazed firmly at Katie.

_Katie. It's me, Mila._ She communicated through her thoughts.

Katie flinched. "Would you like tea?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes, please." Mila answered.

_Katie! Are you okay? What happened..._

Katie just stared at her and shook her head vigorously; her eyes were moist, on the verge of tears.

_Maybe I can help..._ Mila continued.

Katie poured the tea with shaking hands.

_No, Mila. They'll kill me… they said so. No. I can't leave… _

She handed her the tea; Mila's fingers grazed Katie's cold hand.

_Can't leave… no. _

_Calm down Katie. I'm on your side…_

Katie's eyes grew wide and Mila nodded in approval and quickly showed her some of her memories.

_But, the rebel… If it's true then- Mila, use the skylight. The glass is cracked._

With that information relied, Katie gathered the food and left, pushing the table away.

Mila sat back down with her tea which she put aside on an end table. _Use the skylight._ What did that mean?

Oslo was restless with impatience. He either wanted this to be over with as soon as possible or else he was anticipating the moment. Mila still didn't know what she could do; she stared at the bolted entrance on her left. She talked with Oslo about their Academy years, mostly to remain distracted and to gain his trust.

"Remember when we met?" She asked him.

"We were ten and we had been assigned in the same class." He continued. "And you kept throwing paper wads at my head."

She laughed. A fake, tinkling laugh that hid no joy. "Well you started it by making fun of me."

He seemed to be coming around but he was still hesitant. He didn't completely trust her yet.

After an eternity, the metal door hissed open and a guardian strode out followed by a clunking brigadier. She was a young woman with artificially enhanced purple eyes. She had long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and even bangs on her forehead. She looked at them and crossed her arms. Worst of all, Mila knew her. It was Priscilla. Sweet, giggly Priscilla who had been her roommate. But, what was she doing here at the Academy?

Oslo stood up and Mila followed his lead. Priscilla seemed to recognize her now, an eyebrow lifted in amusement.

"Oh Mila, you poor thing… getting kidnapped by a pirate on your first mission." She shook her head in disapproval. "Well, some seijins are more gifted than others, you mustn't beat yourself up for that hmm?" This wasn't Priscilla, she looked the part though. Sure the friend she had known had often made snide remarks but this darkness in her voice was new. And her eyes; they used to be brown. She'd changed them, like so many other guardians did these days. It was like a trend, more or less. Mila supposed there would be a trend for tattoos next no doubt.

"You like them?" She asked, noticing Mila's stare. "I think they make me look more intimidating, don't you?"

"Yeah sure- What are you still doing here?" Mila asked.

"Oh, well." Her eyes flashed with anger. "They never intended to send me away, not really. No, they found me quite gifted for this job… They can't just announce in the auditorium that I'm going to interrogate criminals for a living now can they?" She giggled, and for a moment Mila saw the old Priscilla.

Her mind had been tampered with, that much was obvious; the way her eyes were thoughtless and dull, her fidgeting demeanor. Maybe she hadn't been very cooperative with her new job so they had to change her thoughts around to make her think that she liked it. The students in her class used to talk about this… that it was just a myth... it was true after all. Some seijin had undoubtedly brainwashed her, she was nothing but a shell now. Would this have been her own fate if she hadn't escaped on the night of her first mission?

Priscilla had always been a gifted telepathic; she excelled at reading memories or thoughts which is undoubtedly why they placed her here. Obviously, she must've been too reluctant to follow her new career path for them to change her though. Some students outrivaled the rest with their levitation skills, others were clairvoyant… it depended.

Mila was dumbstruck. The rumors _were_ true. She guessed the Sphere didn't want to lose any seijin individuals from their forces, no matter the cost. So here was Priscilla, probably scared out of her wits to the point that she would put on any facade to avoid getting hurt. What had they put her through? She didn't want to know.

"Doesn't matter, the job pays well." Priscilla nodded dismissively at the door behind her. "I didn't enjoy myself too much, the rebel's yours. Of course, if I couldn't get him to talk, I doubt you two will." She glared fiercely at Mila for the millionth of a second.

_I know the truth honey; once he's gone, it'll be your turn. _

Mila froze. Maybe Priscilla had glimpsed some of Marcus's thoughts, maybe she had seen the kiss...

The girl carried on as if nothing had happened, this time talking directly to Oslo and smiled mischievously. "Have you grown recently? You seem a little taller… Wouldn't it be great if you were taller than the girls for once?"

"Priscilla… always going off subject aren't you? Can we move on with this…"

"Oh, relax Oliver, I'm just teasing."

"Its Oslo-"

"Whatever." She noticed a chip in her nail polish. "Anyways, I have things to do. Get this over with quickly can't you? The rebel won't talk so he is of no use to the Sphere. Kill him. Show the rebellion who they're dealing with. "She paused and smiled. "It's a shame really, he is handsome."

For a moment she looked confused as if her old self was fighting to come back, but then she shook it off with a shiver and focused her eyes on Mila who had clenched her fists so tightly that her nails were digging into her palms. Priscilla stood aside and waited for them to enter.

Mila was the first to step forwards and her legs were shaky. The guardian gave her a spiteful look and Mila could almost feel her gaze burning on her back. Not everyone had bought Oslo's cover-up story and once this was over with, she'd be in danger.

She entered the room…

* * *

><p><strong>-<strong>_Leave a review/Laissez un commentaire_** - **


	10. Chapter 10

A/N _I don't own Skyland. Don't forget to review!_

* * *

><p>Mila entered the room… She was instantly blinded by the harsh white light coming from the ceiling.<p>

During her worry stricken lapse sitting in the lobby with Oslo, she had envisioned a terrible scene. Her mind had constructed several episodes of what awaited her when she entered. Marcus's mangled body on the floor… Or perhaps blood smeared walls dangling with chains and shackles. Maybe a torture chamber over there with terrible instruments designed to inflict pain, like some kind of medieval dungeon.

What she saw when she finally entered, surprised her even further than what she had expected. Not for its gruesomeness, no, but for the fact that it was simply a large, empty room. The walls and floor were all made of the usual smooth metal and the bright lighting came from a large convex window on the ceiling.

A skylight… _Use the skylight._

Her eyes found a zigzagging crack in the glass in the upper right corner; it contrasted light grey against the white sky. Perhaps the glass had fractured with condensation, for its constant exposure to the weather. Of course, it made sense to have a bright skylight illuminating the room, so that seijins could constantly refill their energy.

She took another shaky step forwards to let Oslo enter behind her. Her eyes set on the figure, on the other extremity of the room, sitting with his back against the wall. Mila couldn't help feeling relieved, for the pirate's condition wasn't as terrible as she had expected it to be. After all, like Priscilla had said, he was Oslo and Mila's prisoner, so they had the 'privilege' to finish him off.

Still, Marcus was beat up. His face was bloodied and bruised. There were dark bloody patches scattered across his jacket.

The prisoner was hunched forwards and he didn't even look up when they entered the cell. Even if he didn't seem incapacitated, what with having only bruises and cuts, Mila reminded herself that it wasn't as simple as it seemed. Nothing was certain. The beating, she guessed was the brigs' work. Guardians didn't bother with such things. No, if she guessed correctly, the first thing they would have wanted from him were the coordinates to the rebel hideouts. He must have endured serious seijin attacks to his thoughts, perhaps he had already been driven to insanity…

Mila looked away and stood aside as Oslo entered the room. The door hissed shut behind him. The young guardian stood beside her now, trembling with anticipation.

"Stand up!" Oslo ordered immediately.

Marcus flinched and looked up; he had a blank look in his eyes, as if he was thinking of something else and not quite seeing who stood before him. His gaze focused on Mila as he pushed himself up shakily and leaned back against the wall.

He was pale, but he still had that look of angered determination on his face; a look that wouldn't take defeat as an option. He stood up proudly and straightened his shoulders, waiting for the unexpected. Mila was amazed that he had managed to hide the rebellion's information through this. He would fight to the death for his cause; this much was obvious.

He was still looking straight at her and Mila wanted more than anything in the world to explain that she hadn't set him up. Well, not on purpose at least. She still felt terrible that this nightmare was partly her fault. She would never have betrayed him intentionally… However, she couldn't just voice the truth since cameras were hidden everywhere here, she would instantly blow her cover. She was supposed to have been kidnapped by this criminal, she hated him. She was forced to play the part, at least for now.

Mila side-glanced in Oslo's direction, his blond hair glowing even paler under the skylight, his grey eyes narrowed; a smirk stretched on the corner of his mouth. He was going to enjoy this. The infinitely long seconds that passed by were so silent and tense, that the three young people were simply staring at each other, waiting for something to happen; one bore an a look of steely determination, another smiled slightly, enjoying the stressful atmosphere, the other stood there at a crossroads, her heart beating so fast that she half intended it to burst out of her chest. She was expected to kill Marcus. She couldn't! Then again, if she refused, then Oslo would finish the job for her… She somehow had to play the part and then find some way out of here… Maybe she had enough energy now; she could use that window to-

Without warning, Oslo had lifted his arm and sent a jolt of energy at Marcus. The pirate was thrown backwards with a yell; he sprawled on the floor, wincing in pain.

"Might as well have a little fun while we're at it right Mila?" Oslo laughed.

Mila's fear changed to fury which was suddenly uncontainable. No, she would not play the part! She would not stand aside and watch Marcus die!

Her fists clenched, the room tilted on its axis, the colors merged together, grey and white. White and grey. Spinning out of control… What was going on? She felt a tugging feeling in her gut, as if she was being yanked upwards, as if her very being was being pulled apart. Everything flickered out of focus…

Abruptly, Mila was transported elsewhere; in a vision flash.

It wasn't the future however, this had all happened before. The Academy's auditorium materialized in front of her and once again she was looking at the audience, and at the Sphere dignitary in charge of the Academy. Everything looked strangely realistic, not like the hazy memories in one's mind. It was as if she had gone back in time. Mila was the invisible bystander, no one could see her; she could even see her old self sitting in the row of seats. How strange… What was happening?

She looked down but her own hands were of wispy consistency - she was made of pale blue smoke, like some kind of ghostly apparition… Suddenly, it felt like she had just taken a gulp of frozen water as someone walked right through her. Not beside her, no, he actually passed through her misty body. It was the most bizarre thing she had ever felt…

She stepped aside, and saw that it was that rebel boy, Katie's brother, being dragged by a couple of brigadiers. She gasped and drew closer, no one could see her anyways, and she stood beside Katie.

"Katie!" Mila yelled, but she couldn't hear her, she even tried tugging on the girl's sleeve but it felt like she was trying to grab water, it kept escaping from her fingers.

"_Kill him." _The dignitary ordered.

Katie stepped back and shook her head.

"_Kill him." _He repeated slowly.

"_No." _She murmured.

"_Excuse me?" _

"_NO! I won't. He's my little brother, please I can't…"_

Mila knew what was coming, Katie was held back by other brigadiers… She didn't even have time to blink, that it had happened again; she didn't know if she would have closed her eyes anyways, she couldn't peel her eyes away from that boy's face. That expression of fear and despair. His face swollen and soaked with tears.

"No!" She shouted, even if she knew it wouldn't do any good.

The scene unraveled once more; the loud cracking sound of a gunshot. Mila winced as she looked at the growing pool of blood. Her old self did nothing; she just sat there, gaping.

Why wasn't she doing anything? It was the strangest thing but she wanted to slap her old self. She should have stepped forwards to help the boy or at least Katie. Her eyes scanned the graduates on stage; none of them bore her expression of terror.

Brainwashed fools, that's what they were! Unable to react to the simplest instinct of protection, of sympathy for their classmate who had just watched her family member die. Mila understood, that all these years when she gossiped about Katie with the other girls, how they laughed at that stupid girl who couldn't concentrate in class. How weak she was...

Katie _wasn't _weak, she had been the strongest; to be able to tolerate all those years at the Academy, to live through a kidnapping, to survive her brother's death. Even to this day, she was fighting in her own way against the sphere, telling her to use the skylight… _the skylight_, she had to get back!

It was clear to her now, the Sphere hadn't been her destiny after all. Perhaps it had always been so.

Maybe, there had always been something inside her that knew it.

Her destiny did not lie in a Prophecy; her destiny was what she wanted it to be.

She had a choice!

The memory dissolved. Mila drew in a sharp intake of breath and almost lost balance. She was back in the cell with Oslo and Marcus. They hadn't noticed her vision, it must have lasted only a fragment of a second that stretched longer for herself. In fact, she was still standing in the exact same position she had been in before being whisked off in a vision flash. Oslo looked in her direction; everything seemed to blur in slow motion… Now was the time to choose.

It was the Sphere or the Rebellion.

"Go on Mila. Unless you want to receive the same treatment of course…" Oslo said as time settled at its normal pace once more.

The guardians met each other's gaze. Mila nodded sternly. She had made her choice now; everything was clear.

There was no going back.

Oslo's eyebrows lifted in contentment as Mila's hands started fizzing with blue light. The boy finished shaping another energy orb in his hands.

Marcus had gotten back on his feet when he received the energy blast in the stomach and slammed back into the wall behind him. He slid down the wall and remained there, utterly spent.

Mila's arms started glowing, and she gave Marcus the most credible glare she could manage; while Oslo was watching her in approval, she heard the satisfying click as the door locked. The mechanism was fairly easy to manipulate with her powers, and now the door was locked from the inside. She spun around and faced the blond guardian, her arms crackling with blue light.

Mila couldn't hear anything but the rushing hum of force through her body and her heart beat thumping in her ears; her anger was pulsing deep blue, tapping into her energy reserves. Even her eyes were blazing with energy, her irises flashed white-blue. She had never felt such an overwhelming sense of all-consuming anger; she wanted to hurt. She wanted to _kill_.

Oslo whitened with realization but it was too late; he caught an energy orb square in the chest and was knocked backwards. He slammed right next to Marcus with a startled yell; the air was knocked out of his lungs. He gasped in pain and tried to scramble to his feet but found himself held back; the rebel had wasted no time for this opportunity and he had tackled the scrawny teenager to the ground. They rolled around on the floor, fighting. Marcus, being the taller and stronger of the two, pinned him down in a matter of seconds.

There was yelling and shouting on the other side of the entrance. There was the sound of hammering on the metal door.

Mila immediately destroyed the cameras on the ceiling, one by one with short, concentrated beams of energy; her body radiating with flames of bluish-white light.

An alarm sounded.

"Let go of-" Oslo's voice was cut short as Marcus gripped his collar and punched his face. Hard. The guardian was out like a light, a line of blood trickling from his nose. Marcus stood up and kicked Oslo in the stomach for good measure; the boy was motionless.

The yelling on the other side of the wall increased as other voices were joined in. The alarm was so loud that Mila had to resist the urge to clamp her hands over her ears.

_It's all over,_ she panicked, _they'll enter and kill us both. _No. She would not allow it, not after all this trouble.

Marcus hunched forward to take his breath and the girl instantly rushed to his side and placed a still-glowing hand on his shoulder.

"Marcus, are you alright?" She asked, her whole body still trembling with energy. Where she had gotten this strength she did not know; but it was an amazing feeling.

Marcus jumped aside defensively at her touch and Mila drew back in surprise. The seijin concentrated and the white energy flashing like a halo around her faded; she approached him, cautiously this time.

"Marcus? It's me Mila…" The rebel took a step back. "I swear I didn't set a trap... There's just no time for this, I'll explain later… we have to go. Now."

She was discouraged by the wild look in his eyes, the way he glared at her like she was a stranger. He turned away and started pacing wildly around the room, looking for an escape, occasionally slapping the walls to find a foothold of some kind. There was no way out… He stopped right under the skylight on the ceiling and looked up. The problem was that he didn't have anything to climb onto, and he cursed loudly.

Mila moved towards him carefully, he was blocking the way... If she was to get them out of here, she needed space to blast the window to pieces.

"Marcus, move… I'm going to destroy the skylight."

The door started to dent under the thumping of seijin blasts. Marcus was so strange; he acted as if he didn't even hear what she was saying, she was scared that if he didn't recognize her, he would ultimately attack her. Seeing how he wouldn't answer she pushed him aside and stood under the dome. She lifted her arms upwards and focused on that fissure in the window.

_Come on, come on… _

The door was denting, there was a small gap now…

The fissure split further, dividing its roots along the curve of the glass; the whole skylight window was rumbling and flashing blue under her effort, small particles of white light swirled around. The glass was immensely heavy because of its thickness… If it wasn't for that fracture, she couldn't have done anything…

_Break!_

She refused to die because of a translucent barrier that wouldn't let them escape! Her arms shook under the pressure.

_BREAK!_

The glass exploded.

Most shards of debris were blasted outside, like leaves in a gust of wind, but some others came raining down into the room. She sent another shockwave in the air to blow splinters away, however most glass fragments fell inside despite her efforts, their sound of impact on the floor like a million tinkling bells. One plunged its pointed end on the floor inches from her feet and shattered; she shielded her face with her arms.

A sharp pain in her left forearm…

"Stop!" A female voice called from the dent in the door. Mila motioned towards Marcus and enveloped him in a blue light, she sent him flying upwards, out of the hole and onto the roof.

Oslo was still lying in the corner, he was unharmed by the shards; he moaned and lifted his hand to his nose. Mila glanced his way briefly. He had made his choice and she had made hers; it was time to move on. The metal door clattered to the floor with a resounding ruckus. Mila didn't wait to see who was coming out; she jumped upwards, giving herself a boost with her powers.

Her body rocketed upwards and she landed in a crouched position on the slippery roof of the building. Since the roof was composed of solar panels and glossy windows, it was hard to stay in balance. She swayed were she stood under the strong winds which cut her breath short and whipped her hair backwards. She looked back down the shattered hole in the roof just as robotic outlines of brigadiers rushed inside. She powered an energy discharge and released it with a yell on the automatons; there was a flash of bright light and she staggered backwards as metal shrapnel blew out of the opening. Anger and pure fear had given an edge to her powers but already she had overexerted herself, her energy was used up. She would have to rely on her legs now.

It was time to run.

She grabbed Marcus's arm seeing how he just stood there behind her, staring blankly into space.

"Come on!" She yelled over the blustery weather, she yanked harder on his arm but he wouldn't budge. She couldn't move him, so she grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face her; she stared right into his eyes.

"Marcus. Look at me-" He was looking at her, but his eyes weren't focused on her face, they seemed to pass right through her.

"_Look at me_. Listen to me okay? We have to run, do you understand?" Her voice was quivering with urgency. For a moment he focused like he was seeing her for the first time. "We have to run now." She repeated and he finally nodded distractedly.

She released her breath in relief; he could understand her now, his mind was recovering from the seijin attacks to his memories.

"Come on then." She encouraged and started off with a jog which he seemed alright with, so while still keeping a firm grip on his wrist, she led them into a sprint across the slightly inclined roof.

Mila knew that the docking bay was on the other side of the colossal building, behind that spire. Her mind went blank for a second - how did she know the docking bay's location? She drifted in confusion for a moment before shaking her head the slightest bit. She needed to concentrate. The Hyperion could be in the docking bay, _maybe_... It was a chance they would have to take. That ship was their only path to freedom, and if her suspicions were correct, Oslo would have trailed the Hyperion back here since it was the only prototype example of its kind; if the Sphere could build more replicas… They would be unstoppable in sky battles. No, they needed to save the Hyperion as well, there was too much at stake; stealing any other sphere ship would be too risky, what with all the tracking devices in them. Mila glanced back. No one was giving them chase yet.

The problem now was; how would she get them down? They were at such a long way from the ground that she worried she wouldn't be able to get them to destination in one piece.

The building wasn't a perfect rectangle shape she noticed; it was formed like a pointed hourglass, with the spire in its center, where the two inverted triangle points met. The sides were all of a perfectly smooth glass surface and centered on top the edifice was that glass spire, it acted as a light house, a beacon of brightness to guide approaching ships.

The roof grooved upwards as they ran towards the spire. They would need to be careful, not to lose balance since they would have to go around that spire to reach the other side of the edifice. The only relatively flat surface went around the needle, the rest of the panels were furrowed and curved downwards towards the edge of the roof. The point looked small from the distance but up close, it was almost as large as a water carrier. She could see the great light mechanism inside the glass; an enormous spotlight.

They came to a halt in front of the towering structure. The flat stretch of roof circled the spire and beyond that, was the void. A forty story fall to hard cement. First thing first; get to the other side of the roof and try to figure out how to land on that adjoining lower roof belonging to the docking bay.

"Okay, we need to go around… to get to the other side." She shouted over the winds. Marcus said nothing; she took that as a yes. They couldn't backtrack at this point, it was too hazardous; no, the only way to go was forwards.

It couldn't be so difficult right? They just have to be careful and… not die. Soon, they started inching around the massive glass structure to get across.

The roof slanted downwards and they had to keep balance on a small horizontal stretch of panel no more than two feet wide. There was a groove in the cement base of the spire that they gripped to for support as they inched slowly on the icy roof.

They were already half way to the other edge of the roof, she was almost there… She glanced at Marcus, her hair whipping wildly around her face. "Nearly there!" She encouraged him.

He didn't seem to even notice what was happening. He just followed her with dull, expressionless eyes, his unusually pale skin contrasted with bruises. What was he doing? He was barely holding on to the side of the wall!

"Marcus! Hold on to the side, you'll slip-" Mila gasped as the sudden high winds made her lose balance. She swayed in place, flapping her arms about crazily to keep balance and… she fell over.

She slammed onto her back and instantly slipped down the steeply slanted roof of solar panels, towards to edge. Her palms tried to stick to the panels but her momentum was too fast, she only succeeded in burning her skin with the friction. The edge was coming towards her!

Mila screamed in terror and grabbed hold of the edge with her left arm at the last second. Her arm jerked painfully as her body swung over the edge of the roof and hit the vertical wall. She yelled in pain and tried to keep hold of the sharp edge of the roof with her slippery fingers; she reached up with her other arm to grip the edge as well, gasping for breath. The girl started pulling herself upwards slowly, her legs kicking uselessly in the air. She managed to lift her head over the edge and rest her chin on the roof. She groaned as her hands clawed forwards, trying to keep hold onto something to pull her up; the perfect, gleaming surface greeted her teasingly. There was nothing to grab onto… Mila slipped back down, once again hanging by her arms.

She was at least ten meters lower than the base of the spire now and she looked downwards and gasped. She must have been forty stories high and she hung before a wall of cement. No foot holds. The blurred ground, so far down, was waiting for her to fall.

"Marcus!" She cried out.

Mila struggled to pull herself over the edge again but every time she managed to poke her head above, she'd slip back down the slick panels. Her left arm ached, she looked up to see a shard of glass embedded in her skin, the fabric around the wound was bloodying, forming a patch of purple against the blue sleeve. Mila hadn't even noticed it until now; she squinted and a lone tear traced down her cheek from the strain on her injured arm.

The seijin tried tapping into her seijin energy but there was nothing left. If she tried to use her powers now, this would mean having to use her own life source and ultimately kill herself with the effort. There was nothing to do about refilling her energy either: the cloudy-grey weather was getting worse; there was no sunlight. She doubted that she'd have been able to float herself up with the raging winds anyways.

Mila hung on for dear life as the winds rocked her to and fro, her feet dangling over the void.

"Help!" She pleaded in panic. "Help me! Marcus, please!" Her voice broke and her vision blurred with tears.

The minutes dragged by. Marcus wasn't coming… What was he doing? Was this some kind of revenge? Or had he already fallen off the edge?

Mila groaned as her arms cramped painfully. The icy draft was numbing her fingers.

She was slipping.

So this was it, the last thing she would see; the cement ground, rushing forwards at the speed of gravity. After all these efforts, she would simply die. Act as an example for the students of the Academy.

The girl imagined a sphere official pointing at her corpse. _This mangled body belongs to the stupid girl who dared stray away from the Sphere. _

Mila could barely hold on anymore… Her fingers were slipping away ever-so-slowly.

She still had things to do! She had just found her true self and she was going to die before she even had a chance at life! The injustice of it all.

Her left hand lost hold completely and swung uselessly at her side.

Perhaps she did deserve this, all these terrible deeds that she had completed for the Sphere; stealing water for the dying citizens of Skyland. She could just hope that Marcus would find some way to escape without her; if he hadn't fallen to his death already…

Her right hand lost hold completely.

She screamed.

Time slowed down as adrenaline pumped through her veins, she felt like she was floating in place for a millisecond.

She fell…

Everything was jerked to a stop: something tightened around her wrist. For a moment she gazed downwards in awe, waiting for the fall that never arrived; a high pitched whine sung in her ears. Was she dead already?

She looked up in shock to see Marcus, struggling to pull her up. Her vision had narrowed to tunnels, she could barely see anything but the flash of his dark eyes.

"Mila!" He yelled; he seemed to be out of his daze now. "Help me, pull yourself up!" His voice shook under the effort. "Pull!" He repeated and Mila shook her head to clear her blurred vision; her drooping eyelids shot upwards and her eyes opened, alert and focused.

It was like awakening from deep sleep; she had brushed against death and now something was stopping her, pulling her back to life. As if in a dream, the girl reached up her other arm to clasp the side on the roof. Marcus grunted and tugged as he knelt awkwardly on the angled roof, pulling her upwards. She could now lean over on her stomach… He dragged her onto the roof, until only her feet were sticking over the edge; she placed her palms on the icy surface and lay there for a second, her face against the angled panel, catching her breath and shaking uncontrollably. Her face had taken a sickly white-green tinge. She grasped the glass in her left arm with trembling fingers and yanked it out briskly, she stifled a moan; the glass slid off the roof and fell away. She felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her… the voice seemed far away now.

"Mila, come… Get up." Marcus gripped her arm and helped her onto her knees."We have to hurry!" He shouted over the whistling winds. She looked up at him; his eyes had lost that terrible, vacant stare. Why? She didn't know, but she was relieved at least to hear him speak again. She ignored her jelly legs and started crawling back up, careful to keep still when the winds raged. Marcus followed.

They edged towards the spire and Mila was finally able to stand on a horizontal surface once more. Her whole body was trembling from her near-death experience. She wanted to thank Marcus but there was simply no time; their escape wasn't guaranteed yet. At long last, they arrived on the other side of the spire and they sprinted off across the other side of the angled roof.

On the edge of that roof, Mila looked down; there was the docking bay… But how would they get there! Her eyes spotted a small metal maintenance ladder on her right, it was aligned against the side of the building. It was probably designed for electricians. The ladder led to another, lower roof which was at least twenty stories above ground.

"Thank sky!" She exclaimed as she pointed it out to Marcus. Maybe her plan hadn't been so hopeless after all. She kicked open the metal grid blocking the way to the caged ladder.

She nodded towards the ladder and started climbing down the slippery metal rungs without hesitation. Ice had had built up against the steps and she knew that if she slipped, it would be as deadly as falling off the roof itself.

"Don't slip!" She yelled at Marcus, a few rungs above her. If he fell then she would too.

They had to hurry; enough time had been wasted already! She was taking two rungs at a time now, to go faster; the ladder was contoured by a metal safety grid, so they were generally hidden by the crisscrossing bars which were the same bluish-black panel colour found on the roof.

Dark clouds were building up in the sky and soon snow started falling. More and more snowflakes whipped around in the air, blinding her, sticking to her eyelashes. Weather changed fast in Skyland; its patterns were almost unpredictable. She was chilled to the bone now.

After a few minutes, the arduous climb was over; the steps ended abruptly about three meters above the next roof and they had to jump to the other, thankfully flatter, panels.

Mila jumped down, she skidded on the snowy roof and fell face first in the snow. Marcus jumped down next to her and fell over. Mila cursed and wiped the snow from her face; she looked up at the ladder that disappeared in the swirling snowflakes.

The girl pushed herself up and swayed slightly, the world was spinning again; Marcus grabbed her arm and she steadied herself.

"It's fine. I'm _fine_…" She argued.

Something caught the corner of her eye in the snowy air, the dark outline of a fin in the sky, approaching towards the roof. It was a shark in a sea of churning white... She pointed towards it.

"S-15!" She hissed. Marcus cursed and ran off, pulling her along.

The wind had taken a turn for the worse now and the snow blinded everything. White, whiteness everywhere... Where could they hide! They were out in the open, and the ship's silhouette was drawing even closer now… In a way, the snow storm was useful, it hid the escapees from sight; also, seijins would have more difficulty using their powers in this minimal light. But the ship could eventually spot two dark figures against blank whiteness!

"Over there!" Marcus yelled over the wind, pointing at a hazy patch of grey in the accumulating snow. He bent down in front of some metal structure that Mila had trouble distinguishing. Upon further inspection, it proved to be a ventilation shaft, leading inside the building. If she remembered correctly, then they were standing right on the roof of the docking bay; this tunnel could lead them inside…

"Should we go in?" She asked.

"Don't have a choice!" He yelled, as the whine of the S-15 engine drew nearer. He ripped off the gridiron and a rectangular hole of darkness lay ahead.

She cast him a quizzical look. There was no other way.

He was the first to go climb through, his shape disappeared in the dark. Mila waited a few seconds and entered, making sure to replace the gridiron behind her. The whine of the S-15 engine rose to a pitch as it flew past, Mila glimpsed its receding shadow through the grid. It was heading for the roof… She shivered. To say that they had escaped in the nick of time was an understatement.

Darkness engulfed her as she turned towards the tunnel. She crawled forwards, the dull metallic thud of her knees and hands against the shaft walls. Marcus should be in front-

"Ahh!"

There was an abrupt drop through the shadows until the shaft curved into a slide and landed her in a flat ventilation tunnel. She tumbled over once and slammed into something. She toppled onto it and that _something _groaned; she realized that she was lying right on top of Marcus, her face inches from his.

The sound of their panting in the cramped space echoed with a metallic twinge inside the passage; his chest rose and fell under her.

"Sorry." She panted, squinting because of her aching, beaten body; there wasn't one inch that didn't hurt at this point. It was strange to find relative silence once more, to stop for a few seconds to catch her breath in this terrifying escapade for their lives.

Mila couldn't see anything, but she felt his breath against her cheek; she reached forwards and found his face in the gloom. Mila trailed her fingers down his forehead, down his nose, brushed lightly against his lips and chin. He moaned slightly when she placed her cold fingers against his cheekbone. He'd had a bluish bruise there earlier, she had forgotten.

"Are you alright?" She asked him concernedly.

"I'd be better if you _got off_… " He groaned.

She pulled back from the kiss she had been leaning in for in the darkness and she blushed angrily. "Oh right, sorry…" She tried to get off of him in the awkwardly tight space, her elbow dug into his stomach.

"Oww…" He hissed.

"Sorry, I can't see a thing…"

"Just move _here_-" Marcus meant to help her but poked her eye with his fingers by accident.

"Ouch… Marcus!"

"Shh…"

There was a dull clang and Mila rubbed her head. "I just hit my head on the wall…" She moaned as they shifted around again, trying to untangle themselves.

"Mila, get off already! You just kicked my-"

"_I know_! I just can't see where I'm going!" Mila managed to roll off and she inched backwards.

After much complaining, _get-off's_ and _don't-touch-that's_, they were on the move again. Continuing their crawl through the vent, Mila was glad that it was complete obscurity; otherwise he would have seen the disappointment on her face.

They crawled through the shaft, occasionally having to backtrack when they reached a dead-end. He hadn't wanted to kiss her; maybe she was too pushy, after all there was no time for romance now… Still, it bothered her.

She wished that they could have taken Katie along with them but there had simply been no time, plus, she could be anywhere by now… In retrospect, perhaps it was a good thing that she hadn't tagged along since their survival wasn't assured yet.

Soon, Mila spotted brightness on her right.

"Marcus, look…" There was light...

She turned into that ventilation tunnel and Marcus followed behind her. There were small slits of light on the shaft 'floor' that gave view of a large docking area, with many levels. It was stocked to the brim with ships, vessels, transporters of every kind; the large 'S' symbol evident on their sides.

The workers inside, had they looked up, would have seen two pairs of eyes inspecting the interior of the docking bay through the slots in the ceiling.

If they had strained their ears enough, they could have heard a faint whisper, saying; "We have to find the Hyperion in all of_ this_?"

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><p><em>Leave a review! (Even if it's been ten years since I posted this story. I'll always appreciate reviews!)<em>

_Laissez un commentaire!_


	11. Chapter 11

A/N _Still don't own Skyland. Thanks for reviewing everyone!_

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><p>The docking bay was usually swarmed with people. Mechanics and engineers would tend to repairs. Guardians would dock their water carriers and Sphere officials would take off in their sleek patrollers. It was a structured, lively place. Today was different. The Sphere workers had been informed that there were two fugitives on the loose. To make matters worse, they had also learned that the criminals were most likely hiding out inside the docking bay. Escapees, roaming free.<p>

Of course, the workers had been angered by this. Wasn't the Sphere supposed to be on top of such things? Regardless, people had been instructed to remain on the lookout and had been directed to the closest weapons storeroom. There had always been emergency weapons stashes scattered through the gigantic docking bay. The Sphere could never be too careful.

Some people had decided to leave the docking bay, not wanting to continue working in a potentially dangerous environment. A rogue seijin and a pirate. It wasn't exactly reassuring.

At the moment, approximately half the workers had departed and the others had been told to keep an eye out while the guardians and brigs combed the area.

It was very quiet now. The bay was semi-empty and those who had decided to stay behind worked carefully, straining their ears for any suspicious sound.

One mechanic marched alone, his heavy boots clomping noisily on the metal. The young man kept silent as he held a weapon in front of him. He was one of the last to come back from the weapons' stash and he had gotten a rather measly looking gun. Still, it was better than nothing. And it could probably kill from a close enough shooting distance.

He stopped next to a stack of wooden boxes piled up next to the docking bay wall to fix his boot laces. In retrospect, perhaps he shouldn't have placed the gun aside on a crate. Perhaps he shouldn't have put his back to a shadowy row of shipment boxes. In fact, if he had listened carefully, he might have detected the murmuring sounds coming from the other side of the crates, as two bewildered shadows eyed the weapon and plotted his capture.

The mechanic stood back up, hand reaching for the gun. His palm collided with wood. The weapon was not there. It was currently being pointed at his face by a young pirate around his own age.

The pirate nodded behind him and the mechanic complied, face white.

He circled the stack of wooden crates slowly; all these boxes were destined for the shipment area of the docking bay and they provided excellent shadowy cover. Cursing himself, the mechanic walked over, shaking slightly.

"You're the criminal-" He started, eyes darting for any escape route. A girl with braided black hair emerged from the shadows behind the pirate. She whispered something in the rebel's ear. The pirate nodded, weapon still pointed directly at the mechanic's head.

Then panic took over the engineer. They were going to kill him. He knew it. Without thinking, he ran forwards, ploughing into Marcus's chest as he attempted to retake the weapon. There was shuffling and hitting. Marcus managed to spin the mechanic around and pin him face first against the wall, an arm twisted behind his back.

"Mila, the gun. Quick!"

The girl ripped the gun out of the mechanic's grip while he struggled against Marcus. The pirate took an elbow to the stomach; he groaned and staggered backwards and the worker tackled _him_ against the wall. Mila, who had been standing there, lifted the heavy gun and, although she knew that she wouldn't shoot by chance of hitting Marcus, pointed it towards the mechanic. "Stop." She snarled. He relented as he noticed her and this gave Marcus an advantage. He managed to spin the young man around, and gripped his collar while he still kept him pressed against the wall.

"Help! The criminals are here! HELP-" The mechanic shouted and he started a fit of yelling and thrashing. Marcus clamped a hand over his mouth.

"What do we do with him?" Mila asked as she lowered the weapon.

As an answer Marcus yanked the mechanic forwards and rammed him back against the solid wall so roughly that the young man's head impacted with the hard surface. His eyes rolled back into his head, Marcus let go of him and he slid to the floor.

"There." He panted contently as Mila's eyes widened and she gaped at him. "What?" He asked innocently.

"Nothing." She answered as she bent down next to the unconscious man; she poked his forehead. "He looks dead…" She warned.

Marcus sighed wearily as he bent over him. "He isn't _dead_ Mila." He slapped the man's face lightly and the mechanic mumbled something about being hungry and wanting a sandwich. "See."

"Okay then, what now?" She asked and Marcus pointed at the gun in her hands. "You want to shoot him!"

"No Mila… I just want the weapon."

"Oh… right."

"Would you just calm down _please_."

"Well sorry but people tend to be edgy when they almost die!"

"Quiet."

He inspected the mechanic's numerous pockets; he found some old candy wrappers, a receiver phone and a thin square of glass. He held the glass to the minimal light coming from the cracks in the wooden boxes. "Well, would you look at that..."

He had found a small touch screen, he tapped it lightly and a green three-dimensional projection of the docking bay illuminated the dark space. A map. Little numbers indicated the different parts of the docks; there was the cargo bay, the ship yard, S-15 repair center… It revolved slowly in the darkness as they inspected it.

_Hyperion_, where could the Hyperion be? Mila pointed at one of the higher levels of the docks and the area instantly enlarged to show an array of vessels in construction, some prototype ships and a certain familiar craft with pointed ends.

"The Hyperion!" She breathed excitedly. Oslo had trailed it back here after all; she was so relieved that she had to resist the urge to jump up in joy.

"Alright, now how do we get there? Let's see… It's two stories below us and then to the right…" Marcus muttered, frowning in concentration as he looked at the projection, his face illuminated neon green under the light from the device, his dark hair gleaming eerily.

"That's great Marcus but we can't just walk into the open. They know we're in here! They've all got weapons." She nodded at the unconscious mechanic. "The brigs are probably swarming the docks right now, looking specifically for us! It's impossible… _And_ I don't even have my powers right now…"

Marcus heaved a sigh and tapped the small screen; the projection retracted towards the glass, along with the flashy lighting. "No offense Mila, but we don't always have to rely on seijin powers to succeed." He pocketed the screen. Mila felt insulted by this and she looked away angrily. Who was he to judge; if it wasn't for her powers destroying the skylight window, they'd still be stuck inside that room.

They would probably be dead by now, she thought glumly as she crossed her arms. Marcus must have noticed her expression because his gaze softened.

"Sorry, that was uncalled for." He whispered after a while and Mila nodded.

There was an uncomfortable pause until finally Mila snapped her fingers.

"I've got it. Take off your clothes." She ordered and Marcus's eyes widened.

"Er, _what?_"

"Take off your clothes and put on his uniform, you'll blend in that way. Then we'll both be wearing Sphere outfits, we can walk past unnoticed…"

"No way."

"Why not?"

"I won't wear a Sphere uniform."

"You're so stubborn Marcus." She exclaimed with a smile. "Wearing a Sphere uniform doesn't mark you with evil! I mean..." She gestured at herself, "...look at me."

"What's your point?" He smirked teasingly.

"Oh, _very funny_. Now this is serious; put on that uniform!"

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"YEESSS!"

They glared at each other as they crouched in the darkness; the speckled slots of light escaping between the stacked boxes were striping their faces. Mila's blue eyes gleamed with irritation and Marcus's dark eyes shone with amusement.

"Don't make me force you." She menaced.

"I'm so scared." He replied in a monotone voice, his face betraying no emotion.

"This isn't funny!" She argued, getting seriously annoyed now. Marcus frowned angrily.

"Of course it isn't funny Mila! You don't understand... I just- I can't. I _can't_ wear that, they-" His eyes suddenly lost focus and he sat back against the boxes with a grunt; he winced and shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of a pesky headache. Mila's anger disappeared and changed to concern as she watched him.

"Marcus? What's wrong…" She asked as she bent towards him.

"Nothing. I'm alright." He said.

"No you're not; you look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Never mind." He snapped as he rubbed his eyes; he got back onto his feet. He drew his arm away from her grip, and the colour slowly returned to his face as he leaned against a box. "I'm fine, really. " He grumbled as Mila looked at him. "Alright, I'll put on the uniform. But don't expect me to be happy about it."

"Do you need help?" She asked, somewhat shyly.

"No."

She lifted her hands defensively. "Okay, okay, just asking…"

He started unbuttoning his jacket which he dropped on the floor; he was ripping off his khaki shirt. She could see the cuts and bruises across his abdomen... He froze in the motion of pulling the shirt over his head. "Aren't you going to keep watch?" He asked with an eyebrow raise.

Mila blushed, suddenly aware that she had just been standing there. "Yes, of course." She argued as she walked away, slightly tripping on the unconscious engineer on the floor and cursing silently on the way.

She climbed over an overturned box and peeked over the stacked crates; there were a few people working on those metal quays… A couple of brigadiers marching in that direction. The coast was relatively clear.

Mila looked back at Marcus to relay her observations and unintentionally spotted him in his underwear; he was jumping around, trying to pull on some pants. The girl snapped her head back forward, stifling her laughter as she clapped a hand over her own mouth and giggled silently.

After a few minutes, Marcus called her back. He was now wearing the mechanic's uniform and the worker was dressed in his pirate outfit. He looked so out of place in that dark grey clothing; he was even wearing the engineer's black boots. He holstered the gun onto his belt. He finished zipping the jacket up to his neck and sighed.

"Well, what do you think?" He asked impatiently.

The pants were a little too short; Mila walked around him, a theatrical finger on her chin. She straightened the jacket and unrolled his sleeves which she buttoned around his wrists. "There. Looks believable."

"Ugh, the boots are too tight." He complained.

"Well, tough it out." She ordered comically before giving him a thumbs up. "All set."

She glanced apologetically at the man sprawled on the floor, now wearing the pirate clothing. "He can be a useful decoy when he wakes up… If he walks around in your clothes, he can act as a distraction."

"Yeah."

They stared at each other; the worry of the upcoming mission reflected in each other's eyes. There was no room for failure.

"Let's get going then."

* * *

><p>The two imposters peeked from the side of a wooden box before coming out of hiding; in full view. There were a few workers further down one row of metallic docks but they didn't even glance their way. For a moment they just stood there, overwhelmed by the gigantic docking bay spread out before them; it was many stories of landing piers, quays and jetties; the docks were all made off crisscrossing metal grids so that if they looked downwards, they could see all the way down to the hard cement flooring. There were so many ships; some stationary, some flying around to dock, that it was dizzying to watch them all go about their work.<p>

Mila stayed behind Marcus as he started walking towards a metal staircase ramp that spiraled towards the lower docking levels. "Straighten your shoulders… And don't walk so quickly it'll look suspicious-"

"_Thank you_ Mila, I think I get it." He hissed.

The seijin's hair hung loosely around her face; if she looked downwards, it camouflaged her from sight. Somewhat. She'd also brushed off the dust accumulated in the venting shaft from her clothing and face. Mila followed Marcus formally, her hands clasped behind her back, like a proud, smug guardian. The staircase ramp was a few feet away now - there were no obstacles ahead. Their outfits blended in perfectly she supposed, otherwise a camera would already have spotted them. "Remember, it's two stories down and then we go right-" Mila snapped her mouth shut as the sound of clanging metal was heard from the staircase; some brigs were walking up towards them!

Marcus stopped abruptly and she ran into him, mind racing. They needed to blend in. Mila nudged Marcus forwards. "Keep going. Act natural."

They strode on, right towards two armed brigs; they were at the staircase when they faced them. Mila saw one brigadier glance towards them with it's single eye and Mila looked in the other direction to hide her face, pretending to be inspecting the S-15 moored on her right. She distanced herself from the others as she contoured the patroller, trying to look professional and occupied.

The brigs strode noisily past them. Mila sighed with relief all too quickly, for one of the robots stopped abruptly, extending its arm to block their way. Marcus halted.

Mila stood aside, frozen with terror. In the stressful seconds that followed, she could only hear her own frantic heartbeat as she side-glanced at the automatons while she 'examined' the S-15, tapping a random spot of metal plating on the ship's hull.

"Have you seen anything suspicious?" She heard the brig ask automatically. Mila sighed and the rebel's shoulders relaxed. She deduced that all brigs had been instructed to ask this same question to any passer-by.

"No." Marcus answered.

"Keep looking." Was both brigs mechanized reply. The other brig turned its head to Mila, its stare blank and unwavering as it analyzed data, registered what it was seeing. This was dangerous, Mila noted. They needed to get out of here. Now.

"We must be off." She ordered abruptly, with the air of an important guardian. This was perhaps the wrong thing to say, for the brigs remained planted there silently.

"Can't locate identification card." One of the brigs noted as it stared at her. "Identify yourself."

"I am Priscilla. The fugitives escaped on my watch, they are my responsibility."

Mila's insides twisted. The brigs shifted and walked off after a brief pause.

Mila was rooted to the spot for a moment. Foolish brigs. They were lucky that all the robots had such limited intelligence.

"Come on." She whispered to Marcus who was smiling.

He nodded and they walked off briskly, trying to distance themselves from the brigs. The docking bay was immense, they could avoid them easily now - running off would be silly of course. Mila glanced back - the robots were gone.

The fugitives hurried down the metal staircase; one floor, two floors. They rushed out of the staircase and continued down a row of docks; they were discouraged by the magnitude of the area. On the map, everything looked so simple; now, it was just a jumble of ships. The rows continued towards the back of the building. They would have to search around for the Hyperion.

"Oh, _come on_." Marcus complained as they walked on.

After a few minutes of marching around and avoiding large groups of people or brigadiers, they were starting to lose hope. Perhaps the map was outdated; maybe the Hyperion had been moved to another location. They turned down one long metallic dock, lined with strange ships; some half dismantled, wires handing limply from their insides. There were a few dock workers further down from their position who were grouped around a certain red ship with pointed ends.

The Hyperion.

Mila nudged Marcus happily; at least they had found it after all. The three mechanics were inspecting the ship; one was sitting in the cockpit, fiddling with the controls. Another was under the Hyperion, inspecting the hull, while the third one prowled around on top. Marcus picked up speed towards them, Mila pulled him back in surprise; what was he thinking, marching towards them like that?

"What are they doing to my ship!" He muttered furiously.

"Just inspecting it I suppose." She whispered. "Don't worry, it takes longer to do a full scan on it so-"

"What's that guy doing in my seat! He's messing up the controls-" He meant to go forwards but Mila pulled him back once more, she grasped his arm and led him to the side of a large metallic transporter so that they were out of view.

She faced him in the shadows, putting her hands on her hips and looking at him in a disapproving manner. "That's enough. Hold in our anger or we'll both get caught."

He exhaled noisily. "Then what do you propose we do?"

"We wait, they'll leave eventually- I think…"

"You _think. _That's reassuring Mila." He groaned sarcastically.

The girl rubbed her temples, she was getting a headache from all this.

They waited a few minutes but the workers still weren't leaving, on the contrary, they seemed like they were going to be a while. "I suppose we'll have to get rid of them-" Mila had started saying reluctantly when there was a commotion on their end of the dock; they stepped out and saw a few people running past.

One of them stopped and cupped his hands to his mouth; "Found the pirate!" He exclaimed before sprinting off. The engineers left the Hyperion and followed after the others, murmuring curiously.

The dock was deserted now, everyone was gone.

The two started inching backwards towards the Hyperion and when they were certain that no one was watching them, they sprinted towards the moored sky ship. They had to be quick since it was only a matter of time before they noticed that the man wasn't Marcus and started searching for them once more. They ran off across the expanse of the docking bay and skidded to a halt in front of the ship.

Marcus sighed in relief, a smile stretched on his face and he stroked the hull affectionately. Mila rolled her eyes with amusement and patted his shoulder as she climbed onto the front deck of the ship. "You two love birds can catch up later. We have to get going."

Marcus joined her on the ship after ripping off a tracking device that had been installed on the lower hull. He threw it away and entered the cockpit to recalibrate the controls and take off the other tracking devices that could have been fixed there. On her time, Mila searched the hull and cabin for any remaining Sphere gadgets. There was nothing. By the time they had inspected every possible inch of the Hyperion however, a few minutes had flown by and, while the ship was clean now, it was still docked. Marcus climbed out of the cockpit.

"All set." He said and his eyes set on the touch screens scattered carelessly on the dock by the workers. He jumped off the ship, grabbed them, climbed back on the Hyperion and stuffed them unceremoniously down the cabin before locking the hatch.

"Why…?" Mila asked.

"Any information they could have taken down…" He mentioned and Mila nodded in agreement.

She doubted that they could have scanned the Hyperion fully; this was probably just a preparation before they dismantled it. Still, any piece of information was important, and now, they had in their possession whatever statistics the engineers had learned about this legendary prototype. The fact that it was a prototype did have its disadvantages though. However the ship could be modified. This vessel still remained one of the speediest sky ships in all of Skyland. Marcus motioned towards the cockpit but Mila stopped him and pointed at the chains that linked the Hyperion to the dock; they had to get rid of those mooring cleats if they wanted to leave.

"Hold on, I'll get them." The girl muttered as she slid off the hull and started undoing the clamps; one, two, three and… four. There. All done.

She stood back to do a last minute check for any chains and nodded at Marcus who waited for her in the cockpit. It was all clear; they would escape after all!

She climbed onto the hull and scurried towards the cockpit, excitement swelling inside her. What a feeling of intense happiness this was! To finally break out of this dreaded place, unnoticed. She couldn't wait to shout with joy! She couldn't wait to wrap her arms around Marcus. He was sitting in the pilot seat, smiling at her, waiting for her. She was just a few feet away from the cockpit now; how thrilled she was that they had managed to survive.

Marcus's smile vanished all of a sudden and Mila's happiness dissolved with it; her eyebrows lifted with apprehension. Marcus was looking at something behind her.

"You didn't think it would be this easy did you Mila?" A female voice asked.

Mila froze in terror and spun around; a seijin light orb was soaring towards her at high speeds. She didn't have time to react; the blast hit her squarely in the stomach and sent her sprawling on the metal hull, gasping in pain. The place seemed to spin while her mind tried to make sense of what was happening; she ignored the dizzy feeling, pushed herself up on her elbows and saw a guardian, standing on the dock. It was Priscilla, her purple eyes flashing with contempt.

Marcus was instantly out of the cockpit, standing protectively in front of Mila, the stolen gun ignited and pointed accurately over the guardian's heart. "One more step…" He warned. "And you're dead."

Priscilla didn't seem the least bit perturbed by this; in fact, it seemed to amuse her. "That's cute Marcus, really cute." She waved her hand and blue light enveloped the rebel, immobilizing him in place. "Now drop it." She ordered fiercely. Marcus's hands shook and he frowned in concentration against her energy. "_Drop it._" She repeated.

The gun clattered onto the hull.

Mila staggered to her feet, an arm around her stomach, as Priscilla was joined on the dock by a dozen brigs. The guardian smiled at her handiwork and levitated herself onto the Hyperion. She landed lightly on the hull in front of them; she smirked and shook her head.

"Not a terrible idea to frame another man, not too bad. Unfortunately, you can't fool me. As soon as I saw it wasn't Marcus, I asked myself; Priscilla, where could they be now?" She paced around as she spoke, as if they were just small talking, as if they were the best of friends. "Trying to escape with the precious ship of course. I'm not as gullible as your stupid friend… what's his name; Oliver."

Without warning, she sent another beam of energy at Mila who fell on her back, her head inches from the edge of the ship, inches from a death fall. Priscilla strode forwards, ignoring Mila's moans of pain, she stood before her.

"You're pathetic Mila. _Completely pathetic_. I knew it from the beginning, that you were weak." She outstretched her arm above her and her hand glowed; suddenly Mila felt like her body was on fire. Her muscles seared painfully as she writhed on the hull, unable to cry out, she seemed to have lost her voice. It was unbearable this pain, she wanted it to end. She _needed_ it to end or she would die! "They taught me things Mila dear, taught me how to use my powers to the fullest. I can control anything, your very nerves, inflict incredible pain." She stopped the flow of energy and Mila lay on her side, panting and trembling; her hair disheveled and falling over her eyes. Priscilla giggled. "Of course, I never experienced it myself, but judging by the grimace on your ugly face, it mustn't feel very nice."

Mila was too weak to cry but her eyes glazed over and leaked anyways. Priscilla had been her annoyingly girly friend, her roommate in school; how could she do all this? How could she be so cruel?

"Priscilla please, I know you're in-in there somewhere." Priscilla crouched beside her.

"You think so Mila?" She asked quietly. "You think I've changed into someone else don't you? I haven't changed you _imbecile_. I've improved myself. I'm more powerful than I ever was!" She blew the hair from her face and glanced back at Marcus. "Who should I kill first? Maybe I'll start with your _boyfriend_ here; you can watch him die, give you some time to prepare yourself for what I'm going to do."

"No." Mila breathed weakly.

"Don't worry, I'll give you some time to think before you join him. I need to check that head of yours for information too. You're less strong willed than he is, you'll tell me."

Priscilla stood up and approached Marcus who struggled against her power, he tried moving away but he was completely paralyzed by the blue light. "Unless I give you a last try hmm Marcus? What do you think? Maybe you'll tell me something this time other than those stupid memories I glimpsed earlier." She glanced back at Mila who was still lying on the hull. "Did he not tell you that he started falling for you that night where you were both out star gazing in the country… And you asked him what the name of that constellation was…" Marcus's face reddened; though Mila couldn't tell if it was with fury or embarrassment.

While the pain receded slowly from her limbs, Mila felt a glow awaken inside her; Marcus was falling in love with her?

"Oh how romantic." Priscilla continued sarcastically. "How sentimental. You idiot Mila... And Marcus you dim-wit; you don't really think she feels the same way do you? While you were still asleep, she told me that she regretted saving you on her first mission, it's been nothing but trouble."

Marcus's face went pale and Mila felt like she had just been drenched in cold water; these were lies. She had been asleep too! Why was the Guardian saying this? She shook her head frantically but Marcus looked horrified.

"_You're lying!_ I _NEVER_ said that!" Mila shouted at Priscilla who glanced malevolently at her.

"She just escaped with you because she's incapable of killing. We were giving her a second chance today, since she was such a promising asset to the Sphere, but she blew it- Again. Isn't that right Mila?" Priscilla placed a hand on Marcus's shoulder and shook her head at Mila with mock compassion for the pirate. "Mila here; she panicked, _as usual_, and did something she regretted, that's all. She never was one to handle death very well- it was bad for her conscience. She doesn't care for you one bit I'm afraid; it's all for herself." She patted Marcus's cheek with fake concern and the rebel shivered with revulsion. "Poor Marcus." She pouted. She let her arm drop and turned back to Mila, giving her a sympathetic smile. "And _poor_ confused Mila, always going _back_ and _forth_ from the Sphere, always uncertain. And now I'm forced to kill her too... Sphere before friendship I'm afraid-"

Mila gazed at Marcus from her upturned vision, lying on the cold hull; if they were going to die now, she had to let him know the real turn of events. She really did feel the same way; why was Priscilla tormenting them like this? She wanted to turn them against each other, embarrass them- another method of psychological torture, she realised with a jolt. Or could she be jealous? "Marcus she's not telling the truth! I saved you because I'm falling in lov-"

"Enough!" Priscilla exclaimed. "Let's get on with this, wouldn't want to keep you waiting Mila, that's rude."

She approached Marcus and placed her palm on his forehead; he winced and his body instantly went rigid, his muscles cramping and shaking as he stood there, paralysed by her energy.

"No Priscilla, stop! Stop it!" Mila screamed.

"Come on Marcus, let me see where those rebels are hiding…" Priscilla said as Marcus strained against the presence trying to read his memories.

"Leave him alone!" Mila shouted, she scrambled to her feet using her last bout of strength, lost balance and fell inches from Priscilla who was too concentrated to notice her. She clasped the girl's ankle and gave it a twist; the guardian lost balance and fell on her stomach. The blue halo around Marcus dissipated and he staggered backwards.

"Oh no, I broke a nail." Priscilla complained, inspecting her nails as she lay on the hull, suddenly lapsing back to her old self. She looked at Mila. "What am I doing here?" She asked with a laugh, as if they were friends at the Academy once more and they were just playing around.

_She's insane. She's completely lost her mind._ This was as all Mila could think. The Sphere had driven her mad.

Suddenly, Priscilla was pulled upwards by the back of her shirt; Marcus yanked her upright and held her in a headlock, his arm pulled back against her neck, the gun cocked against her temple. "That's enough." He snarled, his eyes wild and furious.

"Wait Marcus, she's back-" Mila argued.

"Mila, start the ship. NOW!"

"Let me go!" The guardian shrieked, genuinely confused and scared.

"Tell your brigs to disperse." He ordered.

"What-"

"Do as I say!" He shouted in her ear.

In a flash, Priscilla seemed to remember everything; her eyes took back that vicious glare. "How dare you!" She hissed. Marcus pressured the gun against her temple and her eyes widened with fear.

"They won't disperse!" She argued. "Their mission is to catch you two, they'll stop at nothing, no matter what I say." The brigs lifted their guns towards them and Priscilla struggled against Marcus's grip. "Let go, they're going to shoot. They register this as a threat!" She choked out. "Brigs, stop!"

The brigadiers clanked forwards. "Negative. Mission to terminate the fugitives. Take fire."

Their gun barrels flashed; in one swift movement, Marcus pushed Priscilla away, she staggered forwards, her arms flailing for balance just as the shots split the air. Mila rushed over to the cockpit and clambered inside; Marcus jumped onto the pilot seat and the windows lowered. The shots ricocheted off the glass. The blue energy shotsc contrasting over the gloomy docking bay looked like shooting stars in the night sky; in all the confusion, Priscilla was just standing there, staring at them, her hands over her stomach.

She hunched forwards and lifted a hand that was smeared with blood; on her shirt was a growing circle of dark liquid. The rushing hum of the engines in the ship; the Hyperion was advancing, but the guardian was still standing there. She swayed sideways, two stray tears escaped her eyes and she coughed. Blood dribbled down her chin. She mouthed something that Mila couldn't hear but she knew that the girl was calling her name, her eyes wide with confusion and sorrow. Abruptly, in the milliseconds that followed, Priscilla fell backwards and tumbled off the edge of the ship.

Mila shouted out in terror; Marcus ignored her cries and the ship blasted forwards. The girl rushed to the back seat and from the window, she could glimpse the distorted figure of a guardian, sprawled on the rounded top of a large water carrier a few levels down.

"She's dead! Marcus, she's dead!" She shouted.

The Hyperion blasted off, away from the dock that had been its prison, and swerved to avoid other docked ships; the vessel was rushing for the exit. They had been noticed now, this was certain, since the numerous exit holes where closing their metal doors.

"We'll never make it!" She exclaimed from the back seat, the Hyperion swerved towards the largest exit and accelerated; already, there was only a narrow slit left, not nearly large enough from them to pass through. "Marcus stop, we're going to crash!"

The Hyperion rolled towards the slit of light, they passed sideways through the slot, the cockpit window screeched noisily against the metal, sparks flew...

And… they were out, just as all the exits shut behind them. Bright skies streamed their light onto them; the storm had passed; now it was blue skies all around. It didn't seem like it, but they had lost a few hours inside the docks and now it was evening. The Hyperion seemed like a minuscule insect compared to the caliber of the surrounding buildings; it flew almost noiselessly through the air, like a predator prowling for its prey. The vessel spun around and headed upwards, towards the spire.

"We made it!" Mila exclaimed, in a jumble of emotions; she didn't know if she wanted to cry or laugh.

"Yeah!" Marcus yelled but he was half-laughing too, in shock.

"Yes! We! Made! It!" She exclaimed, while she cried, laughed and punched the air.

The Hyperion twisted once as it flew over the edge of the tall building they had ran across earlier. The pilot pressed the trigger on the joystick and the shots fired from the Hyperion impacted with the spire on top. The ship looped back around and fired another round of shots on the needle. At long last, the glass structure cracked and shattered, the large spotlight inside caught fire and the needle itself broke apart; its crushed debris falling all over the place.

The building was still intact of course, but its main attraction was chattered to pieces now; the red speck that was the Hyperion soared away. If Mila had had some binoculars, she could have noticed a familiar looking girl in one of the lower windows of the building, smiling happily as she watched the ship fly away. She waved slowly, a rare sign of happiness on her pale face, new hope of escape settling in her heart.

The Hyperion rushed speedily towards the main Guardian Academy block, where the students resided. Marcus circled the ship over it; they could see the many training centers, pools, pavilions and buildings gleaming under the light. Some bewildered children looked upwards, waving and pointing excitedly at the combat ship soaring overhead. Ignoring their teachers' requests, they cheered and laughed innocently as the Hyperion swerved around and headed towards the main entrance courtyard of the Academy; some people scurried away as the ship dipped downwards and opened fire on the large, ornate fountain spewing water into the air. There were brief shooting sounds and the fountain exploded, spluttering its water pathetically from its wrecked remains. After one last swoop over the block, Marcus accelerated the ship into the distance.

Of course, all of this drawn attention came with a price, within seconds, an armada of S-15's were chasing them and Mila's heart fell; perhaps she was jumping to conclusions, they weren't home free yet.

"No sweat. I've got this." He told her.

What ensued was a twirling vortex or merged colours and confusion; Mila felt sick to her stomach, she glanced at Marcus who had complete concentration etched across his face. His hands flew over the controls with amazing dexterity and experience, a smile was just visible on the corner of his lips. The Hyperion was spinning around, cutting through the air like a knife, shooting with exact precision at the enemy ships; all of that in plain sight of the Academy, an epic battle across the Sphere controlled skies. Even more shocking; the pirate ship was winning against the numerous Sphere vessels. Puffs of smoke rose through the air as S-15's were shot down or ran into each other. Sporadic glares of intense orange explosions marked the darkening blue sky, a curved half moon watching them from the horizon, where a line of blazing white had appeared with the setting sun.

Soon, the thirty or so Sphere combat ships were completely eradicated; falling through the air like scraps of burnt paper. Marcus sent the ship into a celebratory spiral through the air, shooting white-blue energy shots, igniting the sky like so many fireworks.

He had left his mark now; given the students at the Academy a sign that the rebellion was still alive and fighting against the dictatorship. Mila didn't once glance back as they soared away; she was leaving the Academy for good this time. She cheered happily at Marcus's exploits and then the ship zoomed away, behind those distant white cumulus clouds, towards the curved moon shape inviting them forwards.

The Hyperion's engines whined as the ship was put in ultimate acceleration mode; they swerved around a puffy cloud and effectuated a couple of confusing twists in the sky to lose any enemies before heading straight; over an endless sea of wavy white clouds.

It was calm.

The waves of white mist rippled in the wind, the surf crashed and bubbled as it impacted with other waves, like a beautiful illusion. So this was it, what the sea used to look like in the ancient world. It was breathtaking, like in a child's dream, Mila half expected to see a small sail boat setting course across the ocean, travelling towards some distant islands laden with buried treasure.

There could be a whale breaching the surface over there, spouting a spray of sea water before continuing its journey towards the Arctic.

The horizon had taken a light blue-green color and the moon hung there sleepily, gazing over this destroyed world that still held onto a strange beauty.

That still held on to hope.

A world that still aspired to survive.

Skyland.

* * *

><p><em>Leave a review!Laissez un commentaire!_


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: _Don't own Skyland. Sorry it took so long to update. _

_Reviews are always welcome!_

* * *

><p>The night was calm.<p>

Few stars speckled the sky; but those who were present looked like precious gems, floating in the void. The white moon continued its sleepy journey across the heavens. Resting on the lower half of the horizon, was a stretch of wind-swept white clouds, feathered and rippled by the wind. Above it, skimming its creamy surface, was a miniature red fleck, speeding through the air; the Hyperion. The ship was flying at such high speeds that when it passed a rare, drifting island, the latter resembled a mottled, grey blur.

Inside the cockpit of the speedy ship, two people were sitting in the semi-darkness illuminated by the somewhat eerie orange glow of the controls. There was a girl sitting rigidly in her seat; she was dishevelled and covered in scrapes and bruises; her blue eyes were wide and crazy looking, as if she had just narrowly escaped from disaster alive, which in fact, she had.

There was a young pirate in the orange pilot seat. He, in contrast to the girl, appeared concentrated rather than stressed by the events that had unfolded. His face was bloodied and the sphere uniform which he had stolen was now tinted with hints of blood across his arms and chest. He gritted his teeth, unsuccessfully trying to hide the boiling anger that was spreading through him.

The radar was blank. No enemies were in pursuit.

Mila had just defied the Academy, a place she had once considered her home, although strict; she had prided herself for being a guardian in training. Of course, everything had changed. Now, the only feeling that rushed through her mind when she thought of the Sphere, was hatred. The Sphere had transformed Priscilla into a cruel, thoughtless shell; it had tried to force her, Mila, into killing Marcus, it had stolen, tortured and murdered without mercy. No, she wanted no part of this organization, not anymore. She truly wanted to join the rebellion now. She hoped the resistance was honourable, that it didn't steal water just to hoard it all for itself; that would make it just as immoral as the Sphere...

"I can't believe we made it!" Mila exclaimed in disbelief for the millionth time; Marcus said nothing however. Mila had expected to die when Priscilla had reappeared in the docking bay.

Priscilla. She was dead.

Mila felt conflicted; some part of her was actually… satisfied that she was dead. Nevertheless, Priscilla had evidently been brainwashed to act that way, it wasn't entirely her fault. Mila wondered if she would have met the same fate as her colleague had she chosen to stay with the Sphere, would she have become a harsh, merciless guardian driven half insane? She shook the terrible thought away. The real Priscilla had been her friend, and it was the real Priscilla that she would miss; not this individual that had claimed her physical appearance. She was too astonished by the turn of events to feel grief for her colleague – her mind was numb.

Her long sleeved, navy blue shirt had a metallic zipper that kept clinking annoyingly. Mila suddenly wondered why she had gotten such a fashionable attire, commonly, the uniforms ranged from white to black, varying in different shades of grey. Had Oslo purposefully given this to her; had he really thought that she would have changed her mind about the Sphere over _clothing_? She exhaled noisily and shook her head the slightest bit. Oslo was obsessive with the Prophecy; she had never seen him like this at the Academy... Although, she thought, back then she had probably been too fixated with being the Lady of Light to notice his behaviour. He had always conformed to the rules without a second thought; he didn't need his mind to be 'perfected', he would undoubtedly be the ideal Sphere candidate. The difference between them was clear; whereas they were both powerful seijins, Mila had rejected the Prophecy, for reasons she still did not understand, and therefore she had rejected the prospect of endless power; something Oslo embraced. Something she used to welcome herself before she found out the truth. Before she found Marcus...

Suddenly, Mila found the strained silence very unnerving.

Mila stared at Marcus for a second but couldn't think of what to say; her mouth opened and closed without a sound. He really was an exceptional pilot, she thought, or else maybe the Hyperion had a mind of its own... Marcus stared resolutely forwards, still averting her eyes.

"There's a neutral block a few hours away." He finally said but when he spoke, it was in a cold, angered voice.

Mila froze; she felt like he had just punched her in the stomach. "What do you mean?" She asked, her voice rising with apprehension.

"Our deal, remember? I'm taking you to a neutral block…"

"Oh…" Mila gave the tiniest of smiles and waved her hand dismissively. "No matter – Actually, I thought I could come along with you-"

Marcus shook his head with apparent disbelief. "Who said you were coming with me?" He asked.

Mila's eyebrows lowered, her cobalt blue eyes blazed with indignation. "You did! That first night we met… You- you said that the rebellion could use people like me…"

"That was a mistake."

Mila blinked.

"Do you really think that I'm going to risk the rebellion's security for _you_?" The last word was layered with dislike. "You can't be trusted."

"Excuse me?" Mila exclaimed in rising fury. "Are you honestly telling me that you _still_ think I set you up?" Hadn't she proven herself trustworthy by saving him from that cell, by destroying the skylight which was their window to freedom? She had thought that her actions had spoken clearly, she had thought that it was now common knowledge that she hadn't sold him out to the Sphere.

"From my point of view, it doesn't look good." Marcus said, this time turning to look at the ex-guardian; his face passive yet pale with rage.

"You don't understand-"

"Let me explain." He interrupted. "First: we leave Babylonia, which had no means of communication with the outside world, and we 'coincidently' run into some S-15's." He did air quotes with his fingers when he said 'coincidently'; Mila watched him with augmenting ferocity. "Second: you try to take control of the ship when I shoot at them-"

"I told you, my friend was in there and I didn't know at the time-"

"_Third_:" He continued loudly, overpowering her voice. "After that storm, I hide the ship in the _middle of nowhere_. You wake up. I head outside while you somehow manage to contact this guardian…"

"I did no such thing!"

"And then, you kiss me just to keep me distracted while this so-called friend comes back!" He paused for a moment, as if lost in the memory; it was a pause in which Mila flinched backwards, yelling something about him kissing her first. He ignored this and continued, his tone rising as he pursued with his story. "The Sphere, apparently, was under the impression that _I_ kidnapped _you_…" He laughed slightly; a bitter, icy laugh. "So later, you're supposed to kill me; and then…"

"That's not how it happened and you know it!" Mila shouted abruptly, her fury spreading through her body, like a scrap of paper being set aflame. She had done everything for him; _everything!_ And he doubted her? He had the nerve to doubt her?

"I am no traitor! _For your information_ Marcus, that 'friend' captured me as well! I woke up in a cell, alone, worried half to death… Afterwards, I had to find a way for us to escape! Yes, _us_…" She repeated as Marcus sighed impatiently. "Priscilla was going to kill me next! Then, I played the part of a kidnapped victim because _I had to_. Not because I was betraying you! I thought it was plainly obvious… I made my decision to leave the Sphere. I expected you to believe it."

Marcus looked momentarily speechless but then he recomposed himself. "Sure I believed you... when I still thought that you were mentally balanced! She was right; you can't decide which side you want to be on!"

"She… _Priscilla?_ You believe _her_?"

"No! It's just - I…"

"It's because of what she told you isn't it? _Isn't it!_ What she said about me in the docking bay; she told you that I didn't care… She – was – lying! It's her job to torment others Marcus, you, of all people, should have known…"

"You just don't get it!"

"Oh, I understand perfectly. You started doubting my motives when she told you those lies about me, otherwise, you would have mentioned something before now…"

"I didn't mention anything since there was no time to argue while we were escaping!" He yelled.

"Well," Mila pursued, "If I _did _set you up, then why did you rescue me on the roof hmm? Wouldn't it have been easier to let the traitor fall to her death…"

"Maybe I should've let you fall!" He blurted before he could stop himself and his eyes instantly lost their spark of anger as Mila's eyes widened with sadness and she looked away.

For a while, all that could be heard was the rushing air outside and a slight hum from the ship.

After a long pause, Mila spoke. "According to the oh-so-truthful Priscilla, you're falling in love with me." She stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

"She lied." Marcus retorted sharply.

Her heart twisted.

Mila spun around to face him. "The feeling's mutual!" She snarled and crossed her arms angrily.

"Fine!" He yelled, giving a jerk on the joystick by accident so that the ship swerved for a moment.

"Fine!" She repeated glumly before scrunching up her left fist. "And for the record: I did _not_ set you up!" She punched him on the arm, not as hard as she would have liked because she used her injured arm which throbbed painfully on impact.

"Hey!" Marcus exclaimed angrily.

She leaned back onto her seat, cradling the now reopened wound on her forearm as she ignored Marcus's glare. The blood was leaking out of the deepened cut now, and she could see tiny glinting fragments of glass implanted in her flesh, left behind from the shard that had sliced through her skin when she had shattered the skylight window. She dared not touch them.

She hissed and clenched her teeth as pain seared through her arm, regretting her last action. The wound was getting infected; the skin around it was now swollen and bloody.

She wouldn't look at him, no she would not. Her eyes smarted and she closed them for a second.

The stillness was suddenly broken by a harsh sound.

Mila opened her eyes and looked at Marcus with surprise. He had just ripped off his shirt's left sleeve, leaving the sphere uniform uneven. He started tearing it into long, neat strips with a sort of grim satisfaction.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, her throat felt dry from shouting and dehydration.

Without a word, he took one of the narrower fabric shreds and motioned towards her; he took her wrist with his left hand to get a better look at her injury. Mila was immobile as he pushed her sleeve upwards and, after a brief pause, started wrapping a piece of sphere fabric around the wound. Mila felt insulted by this: first of all, she could take care of herself, secondly, he was being unjust.

"It's not so deep." He mentioned as he knotted the fabric around her lower arm; it would staunch the bleeding for now at least.

"Ouch." She slapped his hand. "Not so tight!"

"Sorry." He muttered absently. He loosened the knot. "There, better?"

"Yes." She mumbled wretchedly.

Why was it that every time she was angry with him, he did something this unfair? What was he playing at!

It occurred to her that she probably shouldn't have hit him; he was in worse shape than she was… It should have been the other way around. She should have been helping him. Her anger faded somewhat as she felt his left hand closed gently around her wrist; his fingers felt cold against her skin. She couldn't understand him and she wondered if she ever would.

They were silent for a moment, just half-glaring at each other tensely.

Marcus's eyes were alert, like his usual concentrated self; he would have looked normal if it hadn't been for the dried blood or blue bruises on his face. His nose wasn't broken at least... Unexpectedly, she felt her heart throb with guilt. Mila had just remembered an awful truth that she had pushed to the back of her mind; Oslo had found them because of _her_. Because of her ridiculous, last resort stunt in the storm; in her panic, she hadn't thought about how blue seijin energy sometimes drifted or remained intact in the air. She had just been thinking about saving their lives; it seemed that even when she tried to use her powers for good, it still resulted in catastrophe.

She was not sure why, but somehow, maybe out of concern, her right hand lifted and her fingers touched the purplish bruise across the side of his eye and cheekbone. There was a sharp intake of breath but he did not move away. She applied less pressure, the tips of her fingers were barely brushing against his skin now; his facial expression relaxed as the pain faded. Her sapphire blue eyes met his dark eyes.

"I never meant for this to happen you know." She whispered as she remembered how shocking it had been when Oslo had found them that night. How surprised she had been when the sharp whiz of a dart had sliced through the calm moonlight.

Marcus had reasons to doubt her after all.

"What happened?" She asked as she let her hand drop. Curiosity had gotten the better of her; she needed to know what had happened when they had been separated at the Academy.

At first he said nothing; Mila noticed that he had clumsily ripped off the sphere shirt's entire left sleeve, leaving one of his arms bare. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes; how could he be so temperamental and yet gentle at the same time? It made no sense.

"I... Well… I fought against some brigs…"

Mila stared with disbelief. She imagined some brigadiers trying to drag him along a metallic corridor.

"Managed to knock down three of them before – " He paused, she noticed his other hand clench into a fist as if he was absent-mindedly reliving the fight. "Well, there were more of them…" He shrugged and wiped some dried blood away from his eye.

Mila swallowed. "Then… what happened?" She prodded.

For a moment he just stared into her eyes. "It was _her_… She wanted the coordinates. I-I can't… remember. I don't think she found them…"

"She didn't get them." Mila finished for him as a look of confusion dawned on his face. "Besides… she's dead." Any rebel coordinates the guardian could have seen had died with Priscilla.

He nodded. Mila realized he was still holding her wrist, he seemed unaware. "I heard a scream. On the roof. It was your scream Mila… Then I sort of- woke up."

_And you saved my life._

There was an uncomfortable pause in which they both tried to look anywhere else than into each other's eyes; Mila glanced at her boots and Marcus seemed to realise that he had ripped off the whole left sleeve of his shirt. He tugged the tattered end of fabric at his shoulder with apparent surprise. Mila was still incredibly angry with him but somehow, it was slowly fading due to the fact that she was too exhausted to even fight anymore.

So, Marcus wouldn't trust her. What did it matter? She was quite capable of going off on her own, if it's one thing her years of Academy training had given her, it was a hardened heart. She wasn't weak. She could defend herself. She was a very powerful seijin who was able to kill... if it ever resorted to that. Maybe.

Mila shifted uncomfortably and Marcus let go of her wrist suddenly, he leaned back on the pilot seat. There passed several minutes of strained silence as the Hyperion soared ever further.

"I wouldn't have done it." He said.

"What…"

"I wouldn't have let you fall." He muttered tiredly.

Mila nodded slightly, her lips pressed together as her heart seemed to expand a little.

"Listen, Marcus…" She spoke in the most impersonal tone she could manage. "You can choose to believe anything you want. I don't blame you for hating me, really, I don't... But I'm telling the truth: I never betrayed you."

_Not intentionally at least. _

That was all she had to say. He would either trust her or not. She wasn't going to apologize again; she wasn't going to follow after someone who no longer wanted her around.

She knew what he thought of her. It was simple; he probably thought that she had changed her mind in the process of turning him in to the Sphere. Maybe he thought that she was merely a confused guardian who couldn't decide which side to take... The evidence was against her, that was certain. The whole situation _would_ look bad from Marcus's perspective... She sighed. What Priscilla had said hadn't helped either. It was true, she had trouble seeing where she belonged; but honestly, changing your whole perspective on life in a mere two weeks wasn't exactly and easy task!

He glanced in her direction, and this time Mila stared outside at the expanse of free sky, holding her injured arm carefully. Whatever happened, a new life awaited. She would find a place in the immensity of Skyland, she didn't need him. The outline of her face was dark against the moonlit whiteness outside; her eyelashes fluttered slowly.

It was strange to think that, in the minimal span of two weeks' time, she had completely changed direction in life. Her future had seemed clear and bright with the Sphere, everything had been organized, and she had had friends... Sometimes, in some secluded part of mind, she really did wish that she hadn't seen the Sphere's true nature, that way, she wouldn't have had to go through this atrocious journey. And for what? So that, in the end, the person she cared the most about would leave her behind. Why should she care about him anyways? At the moment, she wasn't even certain about her feelings towards Marcus anymore... It suddenly hit her that maybe all those lies Priscilla had thrown in her face, weren't so untruthful after all...

"We'll arrive in a few hours." Marcus said brusquely.

Her heart gave yet another nauseating twirl.

Mila just shrugged, feigning indifference. She really couldn't care less; she didn't care if she never saw him again, she didn't care.

She wouldn't care.

* * *

><p>It was still and dark. The night had flown by, as if time had decided to slip through faster than usual.<p>

The thick darkness had swallowed the Hyperion whole; the ship looked nothing more than an obscure, black shadow, gliding through the air like a sinister creature of the night. The scenery had changed; the sky seemed relatively empty, there was no longer a silvery white ocean fused to the bottom half of the horizon. As time had passed, the moon had taken refuge behind murky, dark clouds; plunging the sky into complete obscurity. The few scattered, lonely stars continued to shine.

The cockpit window gleamed with a faint, misty orange light that persisted through the shadows. This light illuminated the front seats, where it also shone upon two immobile figures. It seemed that both passengers had unintentionally fallen asleep. They were so exhausted and dehydrated that it had been difficult not to take a quick nap which had quickly transformed into a deep sleep.

Some unknown coordinates flashed a continuous white on a rounded screen which was on the control panel in front of the sleeping pirate. The controls also displayed that the autopilot had been set on course, for temporary purposes (Marcus had not expected falling asleep this rapidly), but it was now leading the way.

The rebel mumbled something in his sleep; he shifted a little and let out a particularly loud snore.

Yet, not loud enough a snore to awaken the sphere deserter on the adjoining orange seat.

Mila's face was squished against the cold window on her right as she sagged sideways in her seat. Her breath was fogging up the glass as she slept soundly, oblivious to the world. For the ship's destination was still unknown to the girl.

Marcus however, had known exactly where the Hyperion was going before he succumbed to sleep...

* * *

><p>AN _It actually took quite some time to complete this chapter and be content with the end-result. Keep on reading; there are more unexpected twists ahead... _

_Leave a review/Laissez un commentaire_


	13. Chapter 13

A/N _I don't own Skyland._

_So sorry for the delay - Here's the longest chapter yet! I really hope you like it. Don't forget to review!_

* * *

><p>"What's happening? What's that noise?" Moaned the half-asleep figure of a girl slouched against the glass window. She had just been tersely awakened by an incessant bleeping noise emanating from the control panel; the radar screen seemed responsible, for it pulsed for a moment with white light, which refracted against the glossy interior of the cockpit.<p>

Mila hoped the noise would simply fade away, but alas, it persisted. She groaned impatiently and opened her eyes.

Her eyelashes fluttered and she stared at her own, confused reflection in the window for a moment. And then, like a film unrolling before her eyes with intense rapidity, the memories of the previous day rushed through her mind. She tensed and sat upright, her eyes flickering about wildly to take in her surroundings; all the while rubbing the right side of her face, which had grown numb.

The bleeping noise subsided abruptly as a hand flitted across the controls. It was Marcus, looking groggy and unenthusiastic, but awake.

"What's going on?" Mila demanded edgily.

It was evident by the young pirate's expression that he had just woken up; his hair was untidy and his eyes were only just half opened. She felt a revolting stab of anger as she watched him. She could almost hear the echoes of his thoughts still lingering in the air; the previous argument was fresh and clear in her mind.

_You're a traitor... You can't be trusted..._

"It's just the radar." Marcus grunted, seemingly oblivious to her glare.

The radar? Mila leaned over to peer at the radar screen as well, but stopped mid-movement, for even this simple gesture made her sore muscles sear with dull, throbbing pain, causing Marcus to steal a quick, inquiring glance in her direction. It was at this moment that Mila became horribly aware of herself. Her excursion through the Academy had left her aching, starving and thirsty. The twisted knot that was her stomach was painful indeed, but tolerable compared to this thirst. For the first time ever, Mila realized that she had no water on demand, nothing to quench this terrible feeling… Her hand shifted instinctively to her belt and grasped thin air where a water bottle should have been clipped. Of course, she thought miserably, hers and Marcus's water bottles had been lost somewhere at the Academy along with their old clothes. She had known this but had forgotten obviously, for she was absent-minded and still dazed from sleep.

Her mouth set in a tight line and her eyes narrowed because of this amalgam of pain but she complained not; she certainly didn't want to look weak and miserable in front of Marcus, not now. She would be strong and independent; she would not let him know what degree of anguish his words had caused.

And now Mila found herself in an inside turmoil of anger, injustice and guilt; she felt responsible - she felt innocent. She was not to blame!_ Although_, she had been rather careless, leaving a blue energy trail to follow...

There could be no right or wrong in this situation, she realised, it had been a mistake. It had been an _enormous_ mistake. Everything. The fugitives' eyes met for a fragment of a second before Mila leaned forwards, her arm brushing slightly against his, and looked down at the circular, shimmering orange screen on the control panel.

_They_ were a mistake.

The seijin's mind cleared and her eyes widened with surprise. There, on the radar screen, was pictured an unidentified mass directly ahead of the icon representing the Hyperion. It was a dense cloud. A cloud consisting of drifting junk; veils of debris were common enough through Skyland. A ship like the Hyperion could easily avoid such cumbersome air currents of course, the passengers were in no immediate danger. As if on cue, the patter of pebbles and small rocks tapped lightly against the cockpit window, deflecting off the hull like hail in a gust of wind. It looked like a shower of gleaming, micro-meteorites; the diminutive stones glinted in the thick blackness as they assaulted the ship, their polished surfaces reflected the distorted winks of the few remaining pale stars.

Marcus gave the joystick a sharp jerk to the left, the Hyperion drifted gracefully through the obscure sky and floated away from the pebbly, grey-streaked air current. The vessel twirled once and continued forwards, following the same directional path with persistence.

They flew on for a long while without speaking; Mila stared outside. As she watched, dark blotches began appearing here and there in the sky; outlines of metallic debris and rocky ruins. Whatever patch of Skyland they were flying through was littered with wreckage. The shapes seemed to mold and blur into humanoid spectres, they then took the form of enemy ships. Ice chips of fear formed in the pit of her stomach. Her feverish mind was constructing illusions - this was not a good sign, she presumed.

By now, the dim, misty air emitted a pale hue of brightness; dawn was approaching. As the dark sky lightened, a gruesome sight met their eyes.

Hundreds of rubble fragments drifted in every direction; they tarnished the cloudy sky like droplets of mud. A fusion of cinder blocks twirled lazily overhead; a twisted lamppost lay in a jumbled heap across a slab of stone.

As they raced onward, one of the floating debris captured Mila's attention; a crumbling stack of cement still held a rusted green, square shaped traffic sign which's inscription was just readable under the meagre light of advancing dawn. A white arrow could be recognized pointing upwards; underneath this pictogram, were worn out white letters; N.Y.C. The rest of the sign was obscured by thick grime. Soon the ancient, otherworldly sign transformed into the feeble imprint of a shadow and was swallowed by the thick mist once more, as the Hyperion soared away, manoeuvring through the shrapnel filled sky with ease.

It looked like a war zone, or some kind of dumpsite... What were they doing here? Mila thought anxiously. Surely this could not be where the neutral block Marcus had promised was situated? Her thoughts were swept away at this moment however, for a massive shape had just emerged from the sky overhead.

The mass composed of rusty pipelines, grey bricks and dangling wires. Ruins. Once a city thriving with life, now deserted wreckage filled with rubble. The outlines of the many buildings were dark in contrast to the misty sky behind them; some edifices were even rooted upside down, seemingly growing out of the cloudy heavens. The city spread out across the horizon, like a great muddy barrier; and the Hyperion sped straight for it.

"Where are we heading?" Mila demanded, trying to sound indifferent despite the wall of decay emerging from the gloom.

Marcus looked at her for a second; Mila felt a twinge of unease as his eyes flickered downwards.

"We're- We're almost there."

"Marcus... " She said, her voice trembled slightly; using his name seemed to rouse him from his thoughts. The seijin at least wanted a rough sense of direction; she did not appreciate having limited information. Besides, she needed to organise her ideas for the coming arrival to the neutral block. "Where are we going?" She asked again, this time with insistence.

He pondered for a second. "Forward." He said finally, but Mila wasn't at all satisfied by his answer. She briefly considered demanding for more information but thought it better to save her words; her throat felt like sandpaper at the moment.

The vessel entered the city and disappeared down a misty, streetless path. The inside of the cockpit darkened dramatically. Grey, rotting buildings loomed upwards and disappeared into the mist. Their shattered windows were menacing and pallid, like lifeless eyes; an old vehicle shell hung precariously from black electricity wires overhead, it swayed creakily in the dry breeze.

Death. That's what Mila sensed, almost smelled in the dusty air. It clung to her skin, entered her lungs... She could almost feel the rush of hopelessness and terror of when this city would have dislocated from the earth.

Mila felt uncomfortable with the whole situation, but decided that Marcus would not betray their agreement. She hoped desperately that this was just some short cut to get to the neutral block. The latter option was not desirable at all. That he would abandon her in such a wasteland was unthinkable. Of course not, she was jumping to conclusions.

How long they flew through this grey labyrinth, Mila could not tell; it could have been a matter of minutes... or even hours. Marcus seemed to know where he was going; the ship sped gracefully along, twirling down passages without hesitation while the ex-guardian's feeling of discomfort augmented. However, she was so very exhausted that she had no strength to keep prodding Marcus with pointless questions; he knew their destination and she would be forced to trust him.

Before long, the Hyperion performed a sideways helix and snuck its way between two leaning rubble walls; suddenly, hazy, feeble brightness coated the air, and an open area came into view. It was a large square with, miraculously, still intact streets; although, the cement roads were spotted with sink holes and fissures. The tall buildings lining the square were stagnant and intimidating. An old advertisement plastered on a corroded notice board flapped and rustled in the mist. The most peculiar aspects of the location however, were the strangely shaped beams of light filtering from above. These patches of light zigzagged along the brick walls; they crisscrossed endlessly through the air.

Mila looked up. Aloft, there floated the strangest occurrence she had ever set eyes on; it was all trees. Trees speckled large, rectangular stone pieces which hovered over the city; the light of dawn filtering through their branches was casting the eerie lighting onto the urban sprawl. Their gnarled roots grasped and pierced the thick stone slabs and curled downwards.

It was a wicked sight, almost nightmarish.

Soon, the ship sped down another streetless path on the right and headed towards the edge of a black metallic walkway sandwiched between two brown buildings.

The Hyperion decelerated and hovered to a neat stop next to the metal walkway; clouds of dust spiralled upwards. The hum of engines subsided and was followed by a deep, strained silence in which Mila heard her heart beat thumping loudly in her ears. Surely Marcus could hear it... She glanced at the pilot but he did not meet her eyes. This made Mila even more anxious – and angry. She hoped, _for his sake_, that he hadn't gone back on his promise.

Her worst suspicions were answered however, for at this moment, the cockpit hatch opened with a hiss and the dusty air snuck its way inside the cockpit; Mila suppressed a cough. Marcus sat there, immobile and somewhat pale; with his slight ever-present frown and downcast eyes, Mila thought he looked rather worried.

For a moment, the atmosphere was heavy and dormant until Mila finally plucked up the strength to ask it.

"Is this my final stop?" She asked tentatively, keeping a calm, casual tone of voice.

Marcus nodded grimly.

It was a heavy blow, it was as if the air was knocked clean out of her lungs – she couldn't speak, whisper or breathe. The crushing sadness of it all destabilized her. The girl simply sat there, feeling rather foolish – she should have known better than to trust a pirate; it was true that the Sphere was malevolent of course... But perhaps the pirates themselves weren't any better in the end.

"Come on." He said more loudly; Mila felt her eyes sting.

He waited for her to stand and exit the cockpit before following; as a precaution no doubt, he certainly wouldn't want her taking off with his precious ship and leaving him here instead. Mila had no choice; it was still too sombre to use her powers and she was too weak to try anything. She clambered out rather clumsily as she was so stiff and sore. The seijin shuffled forwards and took a look around; it was a very morose place indeed, it glittered with old cobwebs and pieces of ancient trash; and it was cold, with only a mere white imprint of dawn permeating the deep mist.

The first realisation that hit Mila as she stood onto the Hyperion's front hull, was the silence. There was no noise whatsoever. A rusted pipe protruding from the brick wall on the right dangled with large silvery webs which rippled in stillness; a spider dropped slowly downwards on a silken strand.

Mila couldn't understand. She couldn't comprehend why Marcus had bothered feeding her lies about a neutral block if his intention had been to abandon her here. To keep her quiet perhaps, so that she wouldn't cause a struggle in the Hyperion?

She glanced his way: he stood there, clad in a tattered Sphere uniform, with his hands in his pants pockets, absently kicking a piece of crumbled brick off the hull. She had been blind! She couldn't avoid the truth; he was leaving her here!

"I know this isn't a neutral block." Mila declared abruptly, her fists clenched; her voice sounded controlled and menacing despite her tingling eyes.

Marcus froze and stared; "You know what this place is?" He asked. He sounded nervous.

"Of course." She snapped. He was insulting her intelligence. She met his eyes while a silent pause stretched; they stood about two metres away from each other now, looking like two, bloodied agents of the Sphere. The spider overhead was dangling metres from Mila's head. "It's a wasteland." She said, her voice quivering slightly. "It's Sphere worthy, what you're doing... leaving me to die on some deserted block..."

He stared at her blankly. "What? Leaving you to die?... Mila that's-"

"I can't believe you!" She yelled suddenly, the emotions bursting out. Her voice echoed infinitively through the ghost city.

Marcus just stood there, his bloodied face devoid of emotion except for his dark eyes which were wide with surprise.

"It _is_ my own fault for trusting a pirate… But I won't make the same mistake again, I promise you." She snarled.

There was a pause, Marcus took a deep breath. "Listen - just let me explain..." He started; he simultaneously noticed the particularly large spider now suspended centimeters from Mila's head.

"I just - I can't believe you were trying to make _me_ feel guilty about everything… I told you already that I hadn't betrayed you! But you wouldn't hear of it, oh no, you were too stubborn to accept the truth! And look who the traitor is after all – it's you! You're the traitor for going back on our promise!"

"_Mila_..."

"What!"

"There's a spider on your head." He said very casually.

Mila stood there vacantly; and then realism hit. A s-spider on her head?

She gasped and her hands flew upwards, dishevelling her hair into a loose and tangled mass as she tried frantically to shake off the spider. Marcus watched her, his eyes narrowed with amusement for a moment, but this expression disappeared all too quickly, to be replaced by a blank, faraway tiredness that did not suit him at all. When she was done, Mila straightened up and swiped her loose black hair backwards, trying to look calm and dignified despite her reddened cheeks.

"Now where was I-" She started before noticing that his eyes were once again drifting away from hers. "What? Is it still in my hair?" She asked, looking scared; her composed poise shattered in an instant.

"No."

Mila sighed with relief.

"Actually," he smiled slightly, "It's on your forehead."

This time Mila yelped and swatted the spider away; the arachnid rolled on the hull and scurried off. She shivered, feeling a nauseous combination of embarrassment and fury as she ruffled her hair once more. This is when she heard a strange echo; rhythmic thumping, almost like boots on hard metal…

The girl parted a curtain of dark hair to peer forwards.

There was a flash of orange.

The outline of a ghostly figure was just visible down the misty walkway; it drew closely nearer, its footsteps echoing with a metallic twinge. Mila stepped backwards and gasped, thinking instantly of undead corpses that had perished with the city; Marcus stood and watched.

The figure emerged from the shadows; it was a young man with a sturdy physique, straight shoulders and a shock of orange hair. He was wearing a brown jacket, patched dark trousers and heavy, muddy boots. Mila gaped in bewilderment, stunned; her mouth a comical 'O'.

For a moment, the man lifted a weapon in their direction but then he narrowed his brown eyes and lowered it rapidly.

"Well?" the stranger demanded angrily, looking between Marcus and Mila. "What the hell is this?"

A flock of pigeons flapped noisily overhead, hooting softly.

"Is that the welcome I get after two weeks Aran?" Marcus asked, annoyed.

Mila stood aside, her eyes darting between the two of them, comprehension dawning on her face. She understood now, this couldn't be just a wasteland…

"That's just it Farrell." Aran advanced angrily, when he spoke, it was with a Scottish accent. "It's been two weeks. How could you take off for two weeks! We thought you were dead!"

Marcus shrugged tiredly. "I ran into trouble." He said. Mila could have sworn he glanced her way briefly when he said this.

"I'll say." Said another voice carrying the same accent. There was one more flash of orange and another young man emerged; the new arrival was slimmer and taller than the first, but they looked so much alike that Mila immediately concluded that they were brothers. "Marcus, what happened to yeh? You look terrible."

Marcus forced a laugh. "Yeah Christophe... I'm alright though, thanks for asking." He said, his voice laden with sarcasm and anger.

Christophe's mouth curled into a smirk.

"What're you doing in sphere uniform?" Aran demanded, still looking furious.

"Oh, leave him be Aran." Christophe sighed exasperatingly. "Didn't I say you were worrying for nothing… Didn't I say he would be back?" He pushed roughly past his brother and joined Marcus on the Hyperion's hull.

Marcus and Christophe shook hands and clapped each other on the back; Mila watched, incredulous at the way they greeted each other. She'd never seen anything like it; people greeted each other with curt nods in the Sphere world. She felt odd now, out of place.

"Been having problems with the Hyperion's radio, eh? We couldn't contact you at all; but when we were alerted of the Hyperion's presence on the radar half an hour ago, we decided to meet up with you here…" Christophe said, trailing off and staring at Mila with an eyebrow raise.

Aran sighed as he stomped after Christophe and onto the Hyperion's hull, which was level with the metal walkway, and then he shook Marcus's hand. "Nice to have yeh back." He finally said, smiling. The brothers looked slightly older than she was; Mila guessed they must have been around two to three years older than herself – Marcus, she supposed, couldn't be far behind them.

"And who is this?" Christophe asked, gazing at a still bewildered-looking Mila.

Marcus scratched the back of his head. "She-"

"Allow me to introduce myself," interrupted Christophe, talking directly to Mila, "I am an expert in navigation, a master of mechanics, and a negotiator extraordinaire. My name is Christophe Mandiez Theodore Cortes. But you..." He winked. "Can call me-"

"Chris…" Aran moaned tiredly, yanking his brother backwards. Christophe staggered out of the way, insulted. "What's your name?" Aran demanded briskly, Mila was taken aback by his brusqueness.

"Her name's Mila." Marcus interrupted uneasily.

"I can introduce myself, thank you…" Mila snapped angrily, casting Marcus a fierce look.

"You brought her along… Is she a refugee?" Aran asked.

"Something like that…" Marcus muttered.

"Can we trust her?" He asked openly, still staring at her, a little too close for comfort. The seijin girl exhaled noisily and crossed her arms with annoyance. She hated how they spoke about her so plainly while she stood and watched.

"If Marcus brought her along, then of course we can trust her Aran!" Christophe exclaimed before winking at Mila again.

"Well then," muttered Aran in a less angered voice, his gaze softened; "You both look like you've been to war. What happened?" He asked.

"It's a long story." Marcus sighed.

Marcus began recounting the Hyperion's troubles on Babylonia and Christophe leaned forwards with interest; he talked strictly of the ship, not once did he mention Mila. The seijin's anxiety was gradually fading and being replaced by boiling anger.

"You didn't need to wait so long for the ship to recharge." Christophe explained when Marcus was finished, "You just had to transfer the remaining energy to the rear propulsers to get instant liftoff-"

"Yeah, I know. I tried to do this the following morning, when the fuel cells were almost refilled…"

"And?... It didn't work?" The orange-haired pirate asked, reading Marcus's expression.

"The ship's never let me down before now." Marcus noted, looking at the hull with something like concern.

Mila rolled her eyes.

"Well it's a Sphere prototype – The ship would've faulted sooner or later; it'll need some modifications." Christophe stated with a sort of finality.

More footsteps could be heard approaching now as Marcus and Christophe discussed. Soon, three more people materialized from the metal walkway, looking surprised. One tall man noticed Marcus and his expression hardened with apparent disappointment. A slender woman with long hair seemed calmly interested. The last person was a slim young man with silky dark hair and kind eyes. He hurried forwards to join Marcus and the rest on the Hyperion.

"Farrell!" He exclaimed happily, smiling broadly and revealing a set of perfect, gleaming white teeth. He was wearing a light charcoal coloured jacket and rather baggy looking grey pants which had been untidily stuffed into green boots; a pair of green goggles hung at his neck.

Marcus cut short his conversation with Christophe to meet the newcomer while Mila stood aside, still in shock. She caught the stranger's name as they shook hands briskly: Xihan.

"You don't look so good…" Xihan noticed coolly.

Marcus shook his head slightly, looking fairly annoyed now. "I've been better." He conceded after a pause.

Aran and Xihan exchanged a quick, quizzical glance as if both wondering what had happened. The woman on the walkway contented herself with a curt nod in Marcus's direction as a welcome. "Farrell." She said calmly, her eyes drifting over the group of people on the pointed, red and grey ship. The man on her left remained silent and unreadable.

"And this is...?" the woman asked haughtily.

"Mila." The girl snapped angrily, meeting the stranger's unwavering gaze without hesitation.

"So..." Xihan said, at a feeble attempt of wanting to lighten the rigid atmosphere. "The radar alerted us of the Hyperion's presence exactly thirty-five minutes ago. It had been days since your disappearance and we couldn't locate your ship you see, and I'd suspected that you were too great a distance away for contact. So, I went to work and enlarged the scanning radius on the central computer, and we were to be immediately alerted if... _When_ the Hyperion ever found itself within ten miles of this place..." The young man spoke very fast, but with a tone which hinted intelligence and careful planning, as if his mind was busy deciphering thousands of scientific equations at once.

"Yeah. We'd just returned from a water retrieval mission when we were notified of the Hyperion's arrival." Christophe said and Xihan nodded.

Aran, who had been silent and serious up till now, stared from Mila to Marcus gravely. "We thought you had disappeared for good Farrell… We hadn't seen yeh since the attack on that water convoy two weeks ago - it was chaos, the Sphere's reinforcements were pouring in... We lost sight of the Hyperion, retreated and left. We had no choice. And when you didn't show yourself after days... Well- The point is, I took over while you were gone."

"That's... That's fine." Marcus said, though there was clear hesitation in his voice.

Aran shook his head, looking tired. "First it was Greenwood and then it was you. We _still_ don't know what happened to that kid…"

"He's dead." Mila mentioned automatically. She saw the brigadier's gun barrel ignite once more; heard a loud _crack!_ reverberate through the Academy auditorium and, with disgust, remembered the scarlet pool of blood growing on the floor...

All heads turned towards her. Everyone was staring, seemingly noticing her presence with surprise. The two strangers on the dock stopped murmuring to each other and fell silent with shock.

The terrible silence stretched out until Aran spoke up. "How do you know this?" He asked suspiciously.

"I…" Mila caught Marcus's eyes; he shook his head the slightest bit. The girl blanched with worry but carried on. "I saw it."

"What does she mean, she _saw_ it?" Murmured Xihan to Christophe who looked as equally surprised.

Mila's throat clenched as the assembly of rebels rustled and shifted with whispers. Perhaps, she should have kept her mouth shut…

The strangers on the metal walkway joined them on the Hyperion's hull; Mila was surrounded, behind her there was the cockpit and after that, the empty mist.

"Well?" The broad-shouldered man on Mila's left growled. He had olive skin, light brown eyes and trimmed dark hair, he seemed to be in his mid-twenties; Mila could see the muscles bulging underneath his already loosely fitted brown jacket which's sleeves were dark crimson. His face was covered in nasty, whitish scars… "Speak up!" He snarled.

"He- He was killed at the Guardian Academy…" Mila stuttered nervously. The rebels stared at her blankly; Marcus looked over the other pirates with apprehension. "I think he just- He tried to come r-rescue his sister but-" Her voice died as the nameless man on her left glared at her; she saw his hand graze against the gun holstered on his belt. The woman's eyes narrowed threateningly; an array of various knifes glinted noticeably around her waist. Mila had to force herself into a neutral expression - but her heart was beating frantically against her ribs, like a frenzied bird trying to escape from its cage.

"Wait a minute – the Guardian School? What was she doing there Farrell?" Aran asked in alarm.

Marcus wanted to say something convincing, but what came out sounded something like; "Er…"

"I know what's going on here..." Christophe said nonchalantly, staring at Mila. "Farrell brought us a guardian."

There was a strained, dangerous silence.

"Ex-guardian." Marcus corrected.

Aran looked furious. "What were you thinking!"

"You brought the Sphere to our hiding base!" The nameless man shouted.

"She's not with the Sphere anymore De la Vega." Marcus said, looking angry. The tension between the two men was evident. "Look, I know what I'm doing!" the young pirate added over the commotion.

"I don't think you understand what you're up against Farrell -" De la Vega said, before turning towards the other rebels. "He's too reckless to lead a rebel group."

"He's the one who established this hideout in the first place." Xihan pointed out serenely.

"And now he's gone and ruined it!" De la Vega exclaimed.

Marcus started towards the man but Xihan held him back.

Mila inched backwards now, suddenly frightened by all these unfriendly faces. She was gripped by the urge to run away, hide, escape from these people. The situation was growing dangerous...

"Enough!" Aran cried. "She can explain herself-"

"Cortes you know as well as I do that guardians lie through their teeth! She's seen too much already!"

The man lunged forwards and grabbed Mila's arm, his grip tightened around the piece of bloody fabric on her lower arm and he pulled her aside so roughly that she nearly fell over. Mila gasped in pain and struggled.

"Let go of me!" She exclaimed furiously; Marcus, half-submerged by the crowd of rebels, looked livid.

"Don't touch her!" Marcus yelled, his outburst uncontainable as he wrenched his arm free of Xihan's grasp.

"We can't take any chances! We'll have to get rid of her, it's the only way to ensure the safety of the resistance-" De la Vega carried on, inadvertently twisting the seijin's arm at an odd angle so that Mila had to bite her lip to avoid a yelp of pain.

"Wait!" Xihan exclaimed hurriedly. "We're jumping to conclusions here…"

"I agree with Xihan." said the woman. She was very beautiful; her long hair was of a mahogany colour which gleamed in the cool air of dawn; and her voice was soft, smooth, clear of any emotion. "She can provide us with useful information…" She paused and met De la Vega's eyes. "Then we can dispose of her."

Mila eyes widened with panic.

"That's not what I meant!" Xihan shouted.

"Settle down everyone!" Aran yelled.

The argument pursued, Marcus was pulling away from the rebels. The first sunbeam of daylight split the foggy air; it shone upon the pirate assembly.

A feeling of rejuvenation overtook Mila as the warm sunlight coated her face; the seijin's eyes flashed brightest blue.

"I said... _LET GO!_" Mila screamed.

There was a loud, crackling whip-like noise and a flash of blue light; De la Vega was thrown backwards. He landed on the hull in a sitting position, looking shocked, his hair slightly scorched.

The trickle of blue light around Mila's hands evaporated - and so did the short-lived feeling of elation caused by her momentary refill of seijin energy.

Everyone was staring at her now. The silence was murderous; what she had just done was an irretrievable mistake.

But then, the strangest feeling took hold of her... It was as if the world was spinning, spiralling out of focus; she staggered slightly as she felt a rushing sensation of weakness; it was all she could do to stay in balance, she could not fight anymore, she just stood there feeling pathetic. She hadn't refilled her seijin energy, she had captured a moment of brilliant sunlight and expended it immediately, using her meager resources of force left in the process. The result? She wanted nothing more than to let herself fall into the sweet, lonely darkness which was slowly misting over her eyes... No... _No_. Mila would not allow it. She would not look pitiable in front of these... these _rogues_.

The sounds grew dim and muffled in her ears; even the chorus of loud voices reverberating against the brick walls seemed muted now.

Mila's assailant was already on his feet; a hand on his weapon. Marcus by now had disengaged from the group of outlaws and blocked the pirate's way. De la Vega tried to push past him but Marcus gave him a shove; the man stopped, his eyes blazed dangerously. They stood in front of each other now, eyes level.

"She's with me. Stand down." Marcus warned, and it was clear by the calmness in his voice that he was furious.

De la Vega gritted his teeth, his eyes lingered over Marcus who was slimmer than he was; not to mention bloodied.

"That's an order." Marcus snarled.

They glared at each other until Aran came between them to break up what would surely become a fight.

"Enough you two." He said, trying to distance them both.

Marcus looked back at Mila; the seijin's eyes expressed a mix of confusion and aversion. She was so angry with him at the moment… that he had brought her along without her knowing, without her consent... It was despicable.

Aran grabbed the shoulder of Marcus's grey jacket to steady him, for he seemed paler than before, the confrontation seeping him of his strength.

"Infirmary." Aran growled as he pulled Marcus's right arm over his shoulders.

"Never mind-" Marcus protested but Xihan took his other arm anyways; sure enough, he swayed alarmingly.

"Both of them." Aran added impatiently, ignoring Marcus and glancing at Mila.

"I'm on it." Christophe said immediately.

There was a split second where Mila and Marcus's eyes met. And the boy with the dark eyes; the young man who had guided her away from the Sphere, looked at her expectantly. He was waiting for a sign of some sort, but Mila remained impassive and silent as she clutched her injured arm. She felt no regret for the blank stare expressed in her sapphire blue eyes. The blank stare of blue which communicated everything and nothing.

"No, I- Mila, she…" Marcus muttered, his eyes retreating from her gaze.

"We'll take care of it." Xihan said, casting a meaningful glare at De la Vega.

This was the moment then, the moment where Marcus and Mila were to be separated, taken apart after supporting each other towards the ultimate goal that was survival. It was a strong bond that was hard to break, even if they lacked trust, these two had relied on their union. Mila felt a twist of panic at the thought of him leaving, though she knew not why. There was a pause of reluctance, but then Marcus walked away drunkenly, supported by Aran and Xihan; they clambered off the Hyperion and soon their figures dissipated through the mist along with their voices.

Marcus was gone. And Mila was alone again. She had always been alone she realised, Marcus had been her first true... _friend?_ - and now he would be the last. She didn't know how to trust anymore. Her so-called Academy friends had turned against her in a heartbeat - Oslo had been cruel and possessive towards her and she felt her insides shrivel for a moment with... was that fear? Was she truly scared of the scrawny blond boy, who's grey eyes had always perhaps, hidden such hate and greed? She knew only that she never wanted to see him again; he was, at the same time, a reminder of her youthful idiocy, to have even contemplated ruling the world was a dangerous memory, which would undoubtedly plague her mind for years to come.

She lifted her eyes, taking herself away from these feverish thoughts.

Mila saw the woman with the long mahogany hair lag behind before striding off in the same direction as well, she cast the ex-guardian one last look of contempt and vanished.

Now it was only Christophe, Mila and De la Vega. There stretched a long silence.

"This is a mistake." De la Vega commented, standing aside, his energy gun hung loosely from his hand. "You can't trust the Sphere."

"I'm _not_ the Sphere!" Mila said, and her voice remained clear and strong despite the whirlwind of emotions churning inside. "Not anymore." Her hands glowed a nearly non-existent blue for a second; she was so accustomed to violence nowadays, that it came naturally. It was more a manifestation of her anger than anything else; she knew she had no energy to fight.

In response however, De la Vega lifted his weapon. The girl's heart skipped a beat.

"Easy." Christophe warned, his eyes flitting from one to the other.

"She's dangerous... And we're expected to just let her run free?"

Mila felt a bubble of searing fury expanding inside her ribcage - they weren't even giving her the chance to explain anything!

"Just lower your weapon..." Christophe sighed wearily. "Need I remind you that you're disobeying a direct order." Even as he said those words, Christophe's expression tensed, as if following orders wasn't necessarily in his primary beliefs. Mila suspected that the young man was being formal in his words to protect her - why, she could not understand.

"A direct order?" De la Vega scoffed. "Farrell is young and foolish; he knows not what he is doing. Such filth should not be allowed to enter the resistance so easily."

Mila stayed immobile, her hands however were trembling with anger; she was so exhausted that she momentarily considered disappearing into the mist behind her.

"This is mutinous behaviour." Christophe observed, looking more annoyed than angry.

The tall man had opened his mouth to retort but when a voice echoed on the walls, it wasn't his.

"For heaven's sake! What – is – this – commotion?" Asked a yet unknown voice: someone else had arrived on the walkway. The stranger paused and stared at the scene with shock; he noticed the furious looking girl with loose black hair and cobalt blue eyes, standing on the Hyperion's hull.

"... Mila?" He asked confusedly.

Time had stopped, the only audible sound was her own name, echoing forever, held in a sort of everlasting limbo in the hazy mist. Her name, Mila, echoed from a stranger who somehow, knew her...

Mila fidgeted, this newfound distraction giving her strenght of curiosity. She tried to look over the pirate's shoulder, but the tall man was blocking her view. What newcomer could know her name? How could this be possible?

"Cease at once!" the voice ordered, and a man stepped forwards. He was in his late forties; he had salt-and-pepper hair, ice blue eyes and he wore a dusty lab coat. "Responding with such animosity is worthy of the Sphere." He said.

De la Vega grunted with annoyance and lowered his weapon. "She'll ruin us." He said simply. And then he took off as well, muttering to himself. Mila exhaled with relief.

"Are you alright?" The stranger asked, still standing on the walkway; Mila stared at him with confusion.

She did not know him, he looked as unfamiliar as the rest of the rebels; however, his kind, icy eyes did reassure her somewhat.

"Yes." She said hesitatingly, but found that she couldn't say it very loudly.

Christophe looked at her and his careless expression faltered; the older man looked serious.

"She's injured." He said, his eyes fixed on Mila's bloody forearm; the girl looked downwards. Sure enough, droplets of blood rolled down her trembling hand and dropped onto the hull with a steady drip-drip-drip.

"Oh." She said, looking surprised.

"I know Vector," said Christophe, "I'm taking her to the infirmary right now, De la Vega got in the way."

"That man…" Vector said, "Is a brute."

"Not his fault," replied Christophe, "last survivor from his home block he was. The whole village was burnt to the ground."

Mila didn't have to guess who was responsible for the fire.

Christophe held out his hand. "You can't stay here." He added with an eyebrow raise.

Mila did not move; she stared at the older man with confusion.

"How do you know my name?" She asked faintly, still unmoving. Christophe too, looked puzzled at this.

"This- this information can wait." The man said, as Mila swayed in place; Christophe took her right hand. The young man helped her carefully off the hull and they walked slowly away. Mila was too weak to struggle or argue so she followed jadedly, what else could she do? If she struggled, then would they decide to kill her? Would they... would they hurt her? No. Marcus would never let that happen... would he? Either way, it was better to play it safe for now, she had to follow along, docile and calm. The ex-guardian was rather scared but her tiredness overcome her fear - she had been through so much in the last twenty-four hours.

Mila glanced back: the stranger had already disappeared. The thick mist smothered the Hyperion from view as the two made their way down the walkway.

She felt ill at ease, leaning on a pirate for support, wandering into the misty depths of the crumbling city. It was hard to suppress an inward urge for violence towards this person, after all these years of training at the Academy... It was confusing that, unlike the stereotyped cruel rebels presented at School, he was actually _helping_ her. Just like Marcus had helped her. It would have been much easier to kill her, as De la Vega had implied, but it seemed to most pirates, that this option was unacceptable. Marcus, she had trusted him however, and he had been secretive and sly - this time she would not let her guard down so easily around pirates. She knew not who to trust.

Mila did not quite remember what happened next; she had a vague recollection of walking along the deserted city for a while, turning down dark walkways and alleys. Christophe talked but she did not listen – she was too bewildered by the turn of events to pay much attention. She was busy wondering who this man, this _Vector _could possibly be. How did he know her name? It was all very strange.

After what seemed like an eternity, they stood in front a battered looking set of doors that led into a medium sized, brick building. The doors swung open and they stepped into a small dusty lobby. Mila paused for a second, her eyes lingering over the faintly glowing light bulbs linked by a black wire on the low ceiling before they climbed a flight of stairs. The elevators, she supposed, had not worked for years and years.

They stopped on the third floor and stood in front of another door; the same, pale lights fizzed faintly along the cramped corridor's ceiling. Christophe opened the door and Mila entered. It was a small apartment, which had evidently been renovated and cleaned by the rebels to create a livable area. It was quite small; this main room had a window in the back, an assortment of mismatched, spindly tables and a small bed.

Her eyes drifted across the small room; there was a door on the right which she guessed lead to a bathroom. The window on the other extremity of the room had been boarded up from the outside so that only faint strips of sunlight entered, eddies of dust swirled in the gaps of light. This looked nothing like an infirmary - medical centres were supposed to be bright, white and gleaming. She supposed these pirates had to manage with the few usable locations they had found.

Christophe said something which, she once again, ignored as she drifted inside. She sat on the bed, where she attempted pulling off her boots but soon abandoned trying and collapsed face-first on the bed, quite indifferent to being rude or looking silly (and she was probably being both).

Nothing mattered now but the fact that there was a soft bed and she was _exhausted_.

The door closed with a quiet _click! _Mila inhaled the sweet smell of freshly laundered drapes. Maybe if she fell asleep, she would forget about how thirsty, hungry and sore she actually was.

Perhaps, she would wake up and this would all have been a terrible nightmare. Yes, it was a nightmare.

It had to be.

* * *

><p><strong>AN** _Xihan: Cheng's father. That's his actual name, I found this information on a valid french website. Cheng's mother was nameless so I took the character with most description available._

_De la Vega: A name mentioned in the 'Red Rock People' episode - there's an old transmission of Marcus who's shouting out names; "... get to station 9... De la Vega, where are the reinforcements {...}" I created a character with the name. _

_The hideout?: New York City. That's where Mahad and Lena first find the Hyperion, I figured it was appropriate since many Skyland timelines indicate that Mila and Marcus travel accross several blocks before settling a main rebel base. Marcus did really establish this hideout, Cortes himself says so. "Your father chose this block as a hideout because it was always hidden by fog, aye he was a clever man."_

_And yes, I did my research. _

_I actually worked hard on this chapter, to fit the all elements into place as perfectly as possible... Please review generously, your opinion is important. How does Vector fit into all this? Hmm, you'll just have to keep reading..._


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N **_I don't own Skyland._

_I want to mention that I did modify earlier chapters some time ago since they were too vague/rushed. Story's the same of course, everything's planned out. Hope you like it!_

_Leave a review!_

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><p>Mila had always been proud of being a seijin. She had always believed herself to be gifted. This was a concept of supremacy that the Guardian Academy taught its students often; that seijins were unique, even <em>superior <em>to the rest of the population. It was a terrible belief of course, but a belief, nonetheless, pounded into the students brains. Years of repetition created the perfect future guardians. Mila was engulfed like the rest of her colleagues; this is what led her to the idea that she, being exceptional even amongst seijins, was the Lady of Light. An idea Oslo had pounced upon immediately.

It was true; Mila had thrived in the radiance of seijin dominance for a long time. That is until the cruel truth of it all stabbed at her heart like a jagged shard of ice. The guilt of her mistakes led her away from the Sphere, maybe subconsciously so.

Now, for the first time ever, Mila realized what a curse being a seijin really was. Seijins were tracked by the Sphere, and guardians were despised by the populace. There was no in-between.

Mila lay on the small bed, her head pounding with such ferocity that her eyelids were forced shut. She bordered on the edge of consciousness for a lapse of time and then finally gave in to sleep; her fears and worries melted away…

What a moment of delight it was, to float into the void, no dreams in sight.

But even this came to an abrupt halt – her seijin senses had kicked into action once more. This was another reason why being a seijin was indeed, a curse: it was nearly impossible to sleep peacefully.

Tormented by visions, useless foreseeings that led to nothing; these were the feverish dreams which drifted monotonously through many seijins' minds during sleep.

Mila was no exception. As tired as she was, her dreams often transported her elsewhere. Habitually, these visions were worthless and dull, but this time... It was different. Mila was gliding towards a distant memory, long lost in the haze of mind. The memory was resurfacing in response to events that had taken place earlier, when she had first entered the abandoned city.

She was being whisked away, a few years into the past... The Academy was rushing into sight...

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><p>"Mila. <em>Mila<em>... Are you listening to me?"

Mila, the twelve year old student with braided black hair, turned around at the sound of a friend's voice. "What?" She asked.

"Do you _ever_ listen to me?"

The voice belonged to a slightly taller girl standing next to Mila. The girl had long dark hair too, but it was pulled into a ponytail. Her golden-brown eyes were long-lashed and twinkling under the glowing, blue gymnasium lights on the high, arched ceiling.

"It depends." Mila said, smiling.

Priscilla's eyes narrowed in the haughty way they always did when she was insulted.

"Sorry... Now what were you saying?" Mila apologized, but with a hint of sarcasm.

Both girls were standing in the immense gymnasium of the Guardian Academy; the east wall, which they were currently facing, was covered by a large, spotless mirror. Mila could see the other students lined up, reflected in the mirror. There was twenty-four of them in this class; they all wore the same, grey uniform with the sphere insignia on the back of their shirts, displayed in bright white. Her eyes set on a boy who stood five students away; he had wispy white-blond hair and resolute grey eyes. Oslo met her gaze. He gave Mila a reflected, shy smile which the girl answered with an encouraging nod.

Their eyes were linked in silence for a second.

Two other boys snickered quietly before resuming their calling out of occasional insults at Oslo, who was often targeted by other students; the small blond boy reddened and hunched slightly. Mila didn't like seeing her friend getting bullied like this, but she made no attempt to stop it. One of the intimidators looked up into the mirror and a smile lingered on his dark face; Mila looked away angrily. Then there was Katie; looking as nervous as ever.

The students had been assembled here at a strange time; it was nearly nine p.m. now and the sun could be seen setting on the horizon, outside the glass expanse which formed the west wall of the gymnasium. The pink sky overhead was reflected a thousand times on the window speckled, spire shaped building sitting in the distant clouds, on another Academy block reserved for faculty. The edifice reminded Mila of a needle; it stood proud and menacing, jutting out of the magenta clouds.

"I was asking your opinion..." Priscilla started impatiently, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. "Does my hair look good like this?" She indicated her hair which was tied back by a silvery elastic.

"I don't know." Mila sighed. "Besides, you're not supposed to wear that remember? You'll get in trouble..." Her blue eyes lingered on the silver ribbon curled into Priscilla's dark hair; students were not allowed to disrespect the Sphere uniform.

Priscilla's smile faded. "You can't be a girl for like two seconds can you?" She retorted darkly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mila demanded angrily.

"Forget it."

"Perhaps I'd be an enthusiastic 'girl' if you didn't annoy me with the same questions five times a day-"

Priscilla waved her hand dismissively.

"It's true..." Mila argued, she assumed a haughty poise as she mocked Priscilla. "_I'm too pretty, what in Skyland am I going to do._.."

"I _so_ don't talk like that." Priscilla snarled.

"... yes you do."

Priscilla pushed her aside.

Anger sparked.

Mila shoved her out of the way.

They glared at each other momentarily before bursting with laughter.

"What _are_ we doing here?" Priscilla asked a little while later.

Mila shrugged.

At this moment, the main doors of the gymnasium parted with a hiss and a tall woman marched in, taking long, proud strides. She was an Academy teacher. The class fell silent at once and the line straightened as students rushed to find their places. By the time the woman stood in front of them, the students were already standing in a perfectly straight line, soundless and still.

The woman's amber eyes surveyed the different individuals for a while - and then she spoke.

"You have been assembled here this evening to take part in a very important exercise." She started without delay, pointing upwards at the ceiling. The students looked up; there hung some white-blue light panels on the ceiling, emanating such a blinding light that it was difficult to look at them very long. "Researchers have been developing these light panels for a few weeks now. They must conduct tests to analyse the lights' capacities."

Mila noticed a scientist with ice blue eyes standing close to the gymnasium doors, clipboard in hand, looking... angry? He forced a smile as the students surveyed him.

Oslo's hand shot upwards.

"Yes Oslo?" The woman asked.

"What are the lights for?" He asked interestedly, ignoring the snickers from other students.

"They're prototype lights designed to activate seijin powers, even after nightfall." She paused. "They're supposed to replicate sunlight."

Murmurs rippled through the class. "Silence..." The teacher ordered calmly, but she smiled slightly at the look of awe on the students' faces. "You have been gathered here tonight to test them." She paused, "Should they work, they'll be a useful addition to the Academy."

Mila couldn't help wondering why her class was the first to test the lights – the thought made her uneasy.

"So we wait for nightfall?" Oslo asked, forgetting to raise his hand.

The woman cast him a reproachful look which softened as he reddened slightly. "Yes, we wait for nightfall. When the sun sets, we'll trial the light panels for their capabilities." As she pronounced the last words she met the scientist's eyes with ferocity, as if communicating that failure was not an option. The man remained planted there, staring back into the woman's eyes stubbornly.

Mila looked at the man with curiosity and he met her eyes for a moment. The girl felt a twinge of shock as a flicker of surprise passed over him and he fidgeted for a moment, his mouth opened and closed. Then he recomposed himself and looked down at his clipboard, eyes wide.

Mila, slightly taken aback by his reaction, looked back at the teacher.

Another hand lifted timidly. It was Katie, looking shy and worried.

"Yes?" The teacher asked.

"I-I was wondering..." She cleared her throat. "Is it safe?"

"Excuse me?"

Katie flinched. "Those lights. Are they safe?"

"The Sphere would never endanger young seijins' lives." The woman replied, her voice smooth and unattached.

The sun had nearly disappeared now; the clouds were dark purple and the sky was of a sea blue colour.

The teacher gave out instructions for the next several minutes; targets were positioned along the gymnasium, one for each student. If the light panels performed their tasks properly, the students would shoot energy orbs at the targets. Mila sensed that she had residual energy left inside her, reserved from the day's accumulated sunlight. She'd be able to use her powers a few times in the darkness at least, no matter what happened.

The students assembled along the targets. Complete darkness had fallen now. The stars were muffled from view by the cool green, violet and blue glows of Academy buildings.

"Everyone ready? When I signal-" The teacher stopped in mid-speech. "Yes?" She asked irritably as Katie's hand lifted reluctantly once more.

"Why must we shoot targets?"

"To ameliorate your accuracy." The teacher turned towards the other students, pacing as she spoke. "As guardians, you will often face obstacles – some moving, some immobile – which you will need to obliterate to reach your objective..."

"Moving obstacles?" There was a silence. "Do you mean people?" Katie demanded angrily.

The woman was neutral but her gaze seemed ablaze with malice. "Yes _people_. Miscreants, outlaws and rebels more precisely."

The scientist by the door dropped his clipboard and picked it up hastily.

"You want us to _hurt _people? But... if we kill them..."

"That's the point."

Some students seemed awed by this thought, others slightly taken aback. Mila looked impassive; Oslo's grey eyes were alight with wonder.

"But-"

"That's enough!" the woman commanded, her voice echoing through the gymnasium. Mila knew what was coming, if Katie pursued with her argument, she would undoubtedly be punished.

Katie bordered on speech for a moment but fell silent in the end. Mila and Priscilla exchanged at quick glance.

The teacher motioned for the scientist to step forward. The man took out a small control remote; he tweaked a dial and the lights on the ceiling wavered to a blinding blue.

"I won't kill anyone!" Katie shouted abruptly, her voice shaking.

"Be silent..." The teacher warned.

"No, I don't want to kill people... Please, I don't even want to be here..." She paused. "I just want to go _home_." It was pitiful the way she pronounced the last words.

"This is your home." The woman answered coldly.

"No it isn't! You're not my family."

This was too much. Mila breathed with apprehension.

The teacher strode forwards; she grabbed Katie's upper arm pulled the girl aside before marching her toward the exit.

The students watched with astonishment.

The two exited the large metal doors which hissed shut behind them; Katie's protests were silenced in an instant.

A strained silence lingered, followed immediately by whispers and mutterings. Katie had only joined the Academy a few months earlier, she was still unstable. Everyone got accustomed to the School after a while though. Mila didn't understand the problem, why would people whine about being here if they asked for it in the first place? It was ridiculous.

The scientist stood there, looking lost in thought as he calibrated the panels. Suddenly, the man gave a curt nod and stepped out of the way. Mila couldn't tell if the panels were working or not, she felt no different. However, she wanted to give it a try.

Mila shaped an energy orb and hit a target with perfect accuracy; it left a smouldering hole dead-center on the canvas.

"Wow." Priscilla breathed, "I-I mean... that was _okay_."

Oslo's target was left with a smoking rip along the center.

Students nodded with wonderment and started too, soon the whole gymnasium was resonating with blasts of seijin orbs. Some energy flares went off course and ricocheted off the walls; one boy received a rogue seijin orb in the face and was left with singed eyebrows. Ripples of laughter, shouts of encouragement and moans of frustration mingled with the noise of sizzling seijin energy. The scientist stood morosely aside, surveying his work with something like disgust.

For a minute or two, the students practised - however, their powers were noticeably weakening. Soon, the seijin energy electrifying the air disappeared altogether; evidently, the light panels hadn't substituted sunlight correctly.

At this rate, the seijin subject would probably need to wait a minute or so for the light panel to _somewhat_ recharge his powers before launching a minimal power surge. The scientist had failed. Mila's hand emitted a feeble spark which fizzed into nonexistence. It seemed as if the panels had never worked properly; Mila had simply used up her remaining seijin energy, boosted an infinitesimal amount by the lights.

"What?..." She asked, looking up at the ceiling. The scientist straightened and walked over, looking at the lights and muttering equations under his breath.

"It isn't working." Oslo growled angrily.

"Yes, I noticed." The scientist replied, somewhat happily, looking down at his clipboard. "Miscalculations... incorrect light frequency..." He whispered.

Moans of disappointment flowed through the students who drifted away, some sitting in groups on the gleaming floor, others leaning against the walls.

Mila stood there, staring at the ripped canvas of her target.

The girl hadn't noticed that the scientist had drifted closer, his lab coat rustling noisily as he walked; he stopped a metre away, watching the panels on the ceiling.

"Ah, well..." He breathed.

Mila's gaze followed him disapprovingly. "It didn't work." The girl noted.

"Perhaps it's for the best." The man replied.

Mila noticed that Priscilla had wandered off towards other students, leaving her alone with the stranger. The man glanced nervously at the gymnasium doors before staring at her.

"I suppose it's time for me to leave." He mentioned. His voice shook with urgency.

"Leave?"

"Yes, my inventions are obviously of no use. The Sphere will no longer need me." He paused and swallowed. "Y-You know how to leave to Academy, I presume?"

"What do you mean?" She asked cautiously. No one left the Academy until graduation, what was this man talking about? He was making her uneasy.

"Do you see that edifice?" He said quickly, pointing outside the window, towards the spire-shaped building sitting in the cottony clouds. There was a flash of blue as the light on its pointed summit swivelled.

"Yes..."

"There's a docking area on the other side of the building. You can't see it from here however... but it's just behind there, on the west side of that block. The docking bay is your only way out..."

Why was he telling her this? Mila felt uncomfortable, she wished the teacher was here.

"Then... how will you get there?" She asked insultingly, enjoying the fearful expression on his face.

"I will ask for transport, after all, as a sphere scientist I should have no problem getting permission." He seemed to be convincing himself as he spoke. He gave a curt nod and drew a shaky breath.

Priscilla stared back at Mila and the scientist with puzzlement. Had the light panels worked properly, Mila would have sensed Priscilla's mind sweeping her thoughts at this moment. Now there was nothing however, only the piercing brown eyes searching eagerly for new lies and fresh gossip.

"Well," he said hastily, glancing at the doorway again and picking up a metal box filled with equipment and electrical wires on the floor; he dunked his clipboard unto the pile before turning towards her. "I must go."

What was that expression on his face? It was concern. "You know how to leave now. I cannot take you along, it is too hazardous..." He paused, looking conflicted as Mila took a step backwards, "I regret it. Good luck Mila."

He left, leaving Mila completely bewildered.

"What was he talking about?" Priscilla's voice inquired. Both girls watched the doors slide shut behind the scientist.

Mila simply shook her head. "What's the matter with you?" Priscilla asked irritably, for Mila was quite pale.

How had he known her name?

* * *

><p>Mila awoke with a start.<p>

The ceiling was a distorted smudge of grey until her vision cleared from its blurriness. Slowly, the small room came into focus and with it, the realisation that she was presently on a secret rebel base. Feeble rays of golden light filtered through the boarded window, painting odd stripes along the walls. It was evening now; the sun was setting. Her stomach gave a twist of hunger – she hadn't eaten anything for nearly two days now. She'd barely had anything to drink either.

Mila felt a vague pressure around her left arm. She lifted her arm, which felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, and focused drowsily; the wound on her forearm had been cleaned and properly bandaged with bright white material. Reassurance poured through her. If the rebels had wanted her dead, they could have killed her already. If they had wanted to hurt her, they wouldn't have bandaged her arm.

It was only after a good twenty minutes that Mila noticed the tray on her bedside table. A tray which was laden with food and a good-sized water bottle, glistening with droplets of condensation… Mila sat up. She pulled the creaking, square table before her and stared at the tray; there was a bowl of mixed vegetables and a roll of wheat bread. There was also a small, rather battered looking green fruit sitting on the side.

Water first.

The words brushed against her mind like snowflakes. It was almost savage, the way she did it. She nearly choked on the first gulps of water but drank it all down in no time. It was bliss. The way the cool water slid down towards her stomach.

Mila regretted gulping it down all at once; firstly, she was feeling sick to her stomach now. Secondly, she was still thirsty and thought that it would have been wiser to drink it slowly. She waited a minute of two for the nausea to pass. When she felt well enough, she started on the food – this time she forced herself to eat slowly.

When she was done, she sighed, staring desolately into the air. She was still thirsty and hungry.

Mila lay back onto the pillows, reminiscing on the days at the Academy. The cafeteria had served such large, satisfying meals… They even ate meat two to three times a week - a rare commodity in Skyland. No, she needed to erase this place from her memory, this was crucial. Wait, the Academy… Hadn't she been awakened by a vision, a memory about the Academy?

She gasped and sat upright.

Vector. The stranger on the walkway… She had seen him before, years ago. She had forgotten about him obviously, but this vision had shown her the truth. That twice he had met her, twice he had known her name and still, she did not know him.

Suddenly, it was a if a wave of frosty water had crashed over her…

This man, because he had indicated the docking bay's location… He had indirectly helped her escape from the Guardian Academy. This meant that when she had rescued Marcus from that cell - after she had blown the heavy skylight window to bits and led them across the roof… She had been acting on pure instinctive knowledge to escape. Somehow present knowledge that had seemed to emanate from the corner of her brain, a ray of certainty that had confirmed that she had to go towards the docking bay, which she had somehow known, lay on the west side of the colossal, spire-shaped building.

Because of this _Vector_, she had known how to escape, even if she had never set foot on the faculty block before that day. Mila hadn't succumbed to disorientation; she had found the docking bay and their way out.

Had Vector escaped the Academy to join the rebels? How had he managed to leave? Of course, he would have had privileges, being a Sphere scientist…In her memory, the man had been tense, worried and pale – perhaps he had been scared for his life. His inventions were malfunctioning... Would the Sphere have considered him useless and have him killed? It was possible. He had taken the advantage of the teacher's absence to leave.

She had to meet this _Vector_. She owed him thanks, for saving her life in a strange, indirect way.

Did he know something about her parents? Parents. That was such a strange term; Mila had always imagined herself alone, always thought that she, simply, didn't have parents. This was impossible of course, but she had no remembrance of having a family – her whole childhood was a blur. A blur in which she was passed from Sphere dignitary to Sphere dignitary; living from one opulent mansion to the other. Always well cared for, but never loved. Mila could barely remember anything before the Academy; it was as if she had simply forgotten everything, her memory wiped clean.

The Sphere was gifted at making students forget their pasts.

If the bond of a family, the bond between parent and child, could be severed… then anything was possible. What an army of perfect guardians they could build – flawless, youthful spirits driven by hate and violence towards the very people who could have once perhaps, in another life, been family. Friends.

The nauseating reality hit Mila like physical pain. She had been used.

Of course, she thought smugly, the Sphere's system was flawed.

She had turned away from the Sphere on pure instinct. The former guardian had simply known that handing Marcus to certain death was wrong; the weight of Andy's brutal murder on her conscience had been nearly intolerable at the time. She never wanted to feel such guilt again.

Katie had been the first and last to rebel, and she was still trapped in the Sphere's clutches. Mila hoped she would be alright; she wanted to send silent thanks for her colleague's support. Katie should be fine. After all, she could not be found guilty of being an accomplice to the escapees… They had exchanged thoughts about the skylight window telepathically.

Priscilla: driven half-insane by the Sphere because she had undoubtedly been uncooperative. Nevertheless, her exceptional telepathic skills were needed to read enemy minds, and they had changed her. How they had managed to do such a thing, Mila could only wonder. She had several ideas. It must have been terrible.

Suddenly, the thought of her former friend, now dead… Her body twisted and motionless on top of a giant water carrier in the gloomy docking bay. It was nearly too much to bear.

Mila doubled over; her forehead against her knees, her legs now drawn level with her chest. She waited for her eyes to water but no tears came to match her sadness. She simply sat there, breathing shakily, eyes closed.

Oslo. He hadn't been the perfect guardian either. He had wanted to help - but the means by which he took action had been despicable. Oslo had dragged her back to the Sphere by force, under the false pretence that he had indeed rescued her from the cruel kidnapper, Marcus Farrell.

And then, he had expected her to kill Marcus so that any evidence of her insubordination would have been wiped clean from the face of Skyland… Oslo was intelligent, Mila acknowledged. But what had gotten into that boy? Her once best friend, whom she had cared for like a little brother, whom she had protected from bullies, had even plotted to rule the world with because of the Prophecy… Had he lost his mind?

Oslo needed her to complete the Prophecy; this was all he cared about.

Except… what had been that glow in his expression when he set eyes on her… Perhaps, to him, she had always seemed like more than just a friend. She had been blind to this however, blind to his pain as she basked in the glow of popularity at School, sometimes casting him aside when she knew that it was wrong.

When he graduated, perhaps he had envisioned a new beginning; it was an opportunity to reinvent his self. Mila comprehended his pain now. She understood Oslo, in a strange, dreadful way. She had been rather insensitive now that she thought about it, but she had moved on, it was time to let go of the past and seize hold of the present.

Mila got up shakily and walked across the small room; she felt steadier on her feet now. She paused, glancing at the entrance door - she stood in the frozen silence for a while, thinking.

No, she decided. She'd deal with that later.

She opened the door to the bathroom, entered and caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. Mila emitted a yell before clamping a hand over her own mouth.

For a moment she just stared at the stranger in the mirror who mimicked her movements. This wasn't her reflection. The girl in the mirror was too pale, her black hair was tangled and her navy blue sphere uniform was scraped and tarnished with blood.

Mila turned away, shaking her head.

She washed up, using a small basin of water placed on the counter. She then cleaned the blood out of her uniform before pulling it on; she brushed her teeth and combed her hair. There, now she looked better.

She left the bathroom and drifted towards the main room; her hand closed on the door knob. The metal felt cold again her skin. This was the moment she had been dreading, avoiding for the last hour. She needed to confirm her suspicions though; she gave the knob a sharp twist.

The door wouldn't budge. She was locked in.

This was insulting! To escape the Sphere only to be locked up again by the rebels. Was there no end to this?

"Hello? Is anyone there? Unlock the door… Please." The word 'please' felt odd against her tongue. She talked to the door at intervals for a minute or so, but when no response came she went to the window. This one wouldn't shift either and she couldn't see outside through the thin gaps of light.

An abrupt current of fresh anger cascaded onto her with such ferocity that she gripped the window sill for balance until her finger nails dug into the wood.

This was Marcus's fault.

He should have dropped her off on a neutral block. That would have been fine, at least she had been prepared for it; that was their agreement from the beginning after all. Out of nowhere however, he decided to take her to a rebel hideout. _Without_ her approval, _without_ her awareness… Who did he think he was! He was no better than Oslo if he thought he could just take her along with him… What had made him change his mind? She couldn't understand his motives.

But, she _had_ wished to accompany him and join the rebels. And he had tried to protect her from the pirates...

Mila didn't know what to think anymore. She didn't believe for one second that Marcus had meant for events to unfold this way.

At the same time however, her trust in Marcus had faltered.

* * *

><p>The sun faded through the mist, the thick darkness of night ensued, followed by a crisp, cloudy morning. Time passed by so slowly, but this was perhaps due to the eagerness of getting out. At first, the thought of being locked in somewhere had been troubling - now everything had faded to dullness. It was extremely boring...<p>

Mila guessed that she had been in here for a whole twenty-four hours now. Unanswered questions hung in the air, drifting in and out like the ticking of a million clocks... It was enough to drive anyone insane.

The only human contact Mila had was a woman who sometimes came in to hand over meals or check on her. This pirate had been on the walkway the day the Hyperion arrived; she was the one who had calmly suggested 'questioning' Mila before throwing her off the block.

It was midday when this pirate appeared again.

She was gifted at hiding her hatred. Apparently, this rebel was the one qualified to give medical treatment; she was responsible for the clean bandage on Mila's arm. The seijin had to admit that the woman's self-discipline was excellent.

Right now, this outlaw wandered inside, closing the door behind her with a kick and placing her medical kit on a table. Mila was sitting against the dusty window sill (she had been unsuccessfully trying to absorb the meagre sunlight sifting through the window for a while) and she glared at the rebel. The woman stood under a scarce ray of yellow sunlight now, her hands on her hips; she blew a strand of hair from her face.

"How's your arm?" The pirate asked impartially as she rummaged through the medical kit.

"Fine." Mila snapped, looking away.

The woman froze and lifted an eyebrow before snapping the lid of the kit shut.

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Mila's eyes were narrowed pensively and she knew that they were both wondering the same thing at this moment. The seijin was confident that she could defeat this woman in battle - without her powers however, she'd probably lose.

"Why are you keeping me locked in here?" Mila asked finally, the question had been resting on the edge of her mind for a while now. She already knew the answer. It was because she had acted unwisely when she had arrived, counter-attacking De la Vega.

"Farrell only felt well enough to explain everything this morning." mentioned the pirate, "In the meantime, we had no information about you so we locked the door as a precaution."

There was a pause.

"Is Marcus all right?" Mila asked, registering the flicker of surprise which passed over the woman's eyes.

"He's fine..." She said. "We're taking vote now."

"Taking vote?"

"Here, we are democratic." The pirate replied. "We'll take vote about your place in the resistance." When Mila looked shocked, she added; "The worse outcome is that we decide to drop you off on the fringes somewhere, where you could start a new life."

It made sense: Mila had seen their hideout, but she knew not where they were in Skyland. She knew not the coordinates.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Mila argued, not appreciating the fact that she had no choice in the matter, "I mean, you've only heard Marcus's version of the story."

The woman shrugged.

"So it's his voice against mine?"

"Yes." The pirate responded bluntly.

Mila sighed. She didn't really want to be here anyways, she had considered joining the rebels before, but now she just didn't know where she belonged anymore.

"You might find it interesting that Marcus is defending you."

Mila looked up with surprise.

"I think it unwise to trust the Sphere." She admitted, "But... you're different."

It was a statement layered with question marks, as if the pirate couldn't accept that a former guardian could have an inkling of humanity. Mila felt another twist of anger.

"I'll be back later." The woman stated abruptly as she picked up her medical box. The door was opened and she looked back at the seijin before closing it behind her. She gave a weak attempt at a smile before disappearing, the faintest trace of compassion lingering on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>AN **_Episode 1, Mahad: "Where are we going?" Mila: "To see a man called the Vector, he helped me escape from the Guardian Academy..."_

_The Vector lived in recluse for most of his life, working on experiments. Now, how could a man like that help Mila escape the Academy? If he was captured by the Sphere perhaps, forced to lend over some of his scientific knowledge? This was the only option that made sense in my mind._

_The Vector worked on (mostly unsuccessful) light experiments during the series, which gave me the idea that the Sphere would love to have technology to refill seijin energy. Perhaps, this is where Oslo got the inspiration for his famous 'light chamber'?_

_Hope you liked it! Keep reading, important events await!_


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N **_I don't own Skyland._

_So-rry for the delay! I always love reviews! _

_Xihan: Cheng's father_

* * *

><p>The city was usually a quiet, restful place; grim because of its façade of faded brick colour, but peaceful. The secret inhabitants of the area sometimes manifested however, voices disrespectfully loud.<p>

Today there was movement through the winding passages of the city. Voices echoed along the walls. Footsteps slapped upon pavement.

Soon, a seijin girl and a young man stepped out of the shadows. They stopped suddenly, for the road which they were following ended abruptly several steps in front of them. Beyond this point, the city was too fragmented to explore on foot.

Mila stood aside, gazing into the emptiness of misty sky. The young pirate before her was silent for a moment too, contemplating the ruins; Xihan seemed to camouflage perfectly into the bleak surroundings, what with his charcoal grey outfit that so resembled the colour of dust. The pair of verdant goggles hanging around his neck and his bright green boots were the only lively flashes standing out against the brown and grey of surrounding buildings.

Xihan was a calm, logical person who had never once showed any disrespect towards Mila; he had even defended her from other rebels when she had first arrived here with Marcus. Still, there was a strange tension dividing them. Even now, Mila felt uneasy around the rebels - after all, she hadn't exactly gotten a warm welcome by the resistance...

Xihan must have somehow sensed that Mila was observing him, because he turned around and met her gaze. He watched her for a second, noticing how impatient and edgy the ex-guardian looked.

It was Xihan's responsibility to show the newcomer around the hideout; the rebel had been assigned the job of tour guide for the day. He had been escorting Mila through the rebel base all morning, explaining everything. The ex-guardian finally had the chance to explore the amalgam of block which had been claimed by the pirates. The concealed structure of the hideout was coming into view now... Mila knew which buildings were secretly used for meetings, which centers were still usable… She also knew of the precarious areas which were slowly but surely, crumbling into dust.

Mila had been released from her 'prison' less than two days after her arrival to the pirate base. She had been delighted of course, to escape the confines of the dusty room at the time. Now however, she wondered if it really made any difference. Mila was still trapped: the city was her prison. She couldn't escape it. Plus, any possible access to ships was well off-limits.

The pirates had reluctantly set her free and assigned her a dwelling in one of the intact buildings. It was apparent by their attitudes that most did not approve of Marcus's decision to bring her along. Even so, the rebels had treated her with a decent amount of respect. They had been relatively good to her, considering that they had once been enemies.

Mila pictured the pirates in her mind. Some were ruthless, mean - like De la Vega. Others seemed emotionless. Some were humorous and enthusiastic. And if she guessed correctly, then there was less than thirty pirates assembled on this base. It was discouraging. A rebel outpost, she had imagined as an organized, secret society filled with individuals working together towards a main goal. Here, it seemed as if the outlaws couldn't even agree between themselves. Xihan had explained that there were many rebel stations strewn across Skyland; the communication between these bases unfortunately, was less than desirable. The resistance seriously lacked organization.

The pirate base was well concealed though; what Mila had perceived as temporary weather was actually a permanent occurrence; the mist was everlasting. A thin haze of fog always coated the city with yellow light, creating a sea of copper and gold which glimmered with diamonds of thorny metal shrapnel. The fog shielded the hideout from enemy eyes. Marcus was clever to have chosen such a hideaway.

Marcus. She hadn't seen him for three days now. Was he was avoiding her? Was he, perhaps, already regretting his decision to bring her along?... Mila was tired of guessing. Besides, she was so angry with him that she thought it best that he stay away.

Xihan drifted towards the edge of the road and gazed into empty sky. "We dock the ships down here," he told her, "come take a look."

Mila shifted with curiosity, walked over and stood next to Xihan. She looked downward into a space of open sky which glinted with rusted metal. A meagre collection of mismatched rebel ships was docked down below between walls of fragmented earth. There was another gap of light beneath the aligned vessels; a patch of cloudy sky. The vessels could circulate in and out using these two concealed entrances. It was a cunning hideaway for pirate ships, but it was disordered.

Reflexively, Mila found herself searching for the Hyperion. She couldn't find it. She did note a flurry of movement along the docks however, as a few pirates walked around, tending to the ships. Disembarking with stolen canisters of water; the bright 'S' insignias evident on the metal containers.

Xihan leaned against a brick wall, risking a cautious glance at the same Sphere insignia on Mila's bright blue uniform before looking away again. Mila ignored this as she scanned the area quickly, eyes searching. The city - or fragments of it - seemed to spread out in every direction.

She stepped away from the crumbling edge, disappointment etched across her face. "So is this it? The hideout…."

"Are you not impressed?" Xihan asked sarcastically. "There are other hideouts. Besides, we're always on the move… should leave this place sooner or later. It works for now." His eyes took a strangely vacant look for a while and then he spoke again. "There's a larger base on the other edge of the Archipelago… We stopped by once, after a mission. There's this man over there, one of the resistance's leading scientists - the Sphere was after him too you see, and he and his daughter joined the rebellion..."

Xihan looked dazed for a second, a slight smile on his lips. Mila caught glimpse of a memory in the air, of a girl with glossy black hair and a confident smile. She shut the memory out. Mila had learned the hard way that rebels didn't appreciate a seijin presence in their minds.

"The man's laboratory is filled with plans for innovative robotics…" Xihan continued, "Even plans to build improved versions of brigs-"

"Brigs." Mila repeated. The idea of rebels having their own robots was troubling.

"If you understand the enemy, you have a better chance at defeating them. Besides," he smirked, "We don't have the resources necessary to build our own robotic army."

Mila nodded with approval. "It's probably better that way."

"Yeah… I guess so."

Mila glanced once more at the docked ships, metal hulls lustrous in the half-light. "Why are you even showing me this?" She asked abruptly.

"You're one of us now." He answered impartially.

A twitch of anger. "You know that's not true." She snapped angrily, turning away.

"Hey... Mila wait-"

"I'm not allowed to take part in any pirate activity." Mila argued, "I can't go anywhere without people watching my every move…"

"Look, we're doing the best we can." Xihan sighed, dropping all pretence of indifference. "You used to be with the Sphere. Marcus defended you, convinced the others to let you stay. The fate of this hideout rests on the hope that Farrell is right, that you really aren't with the Sphere."

"How close were the votes?" Mila enquired.

"I- What?"

"How close were the votes against me? To drop me off on the fringes…"

"I don't really remember-"

"_Xihan_…"

"It was too close." He paused. "But those who voted to keep you here did so for your own safety. An ex-guardian drifting alone out there- Well, let's just say that the Sphere doesn't take kindly to traitors."

"Oh, was that Marcus's argument to keep me here? Pity?"

"Not pity. You helped him escape the Academy right? He owes you one."

"He doesn't owe me anything." She snarled, remembering a blue seijin energy line suspended in the air, an arrow for Oslo to find them… "And he brought me along without telling me where we were going. Marcus was supposed to drop me off on a neutral block – I should have the option to leave."

"Farrell doesn't make _all_ the decisions around here." Xihan responded, and there was a deep, meaningful undertone to his voice. His dark eyes glinted and he gave a slight nod.

Maybe Marcus wasn't the one keeping her trapped here, Mila realized. Other pirates were responsible; rebels who were scared that she would run back to the Sphere had she the freedom to take off.

"And this isn't about keeping you here forever... But, you _have_ seen everything."

"And you don't trust me."

"I don't _know_ you." Xihan replied coolly. "Just give people a chance..."

"They hate me." Mila snapped. She started walking faster but Xihan kept pace beside her.

"Farrell doesn't hate you. He must trust you if he brought you here right?"

Mila's frown faded slightly. "I don't understand why he brought me here to join the rebels if I can't even take part in the actual resistance."

"Do you _want_ to join rebel missions?" He asked casually, taking her off guard.

"Yes... No - I mean…" She paused. "I've seen things I'll never forget. This is personal. I want the Sphere destroyed."

The words formed and drifted so smoothly out of her mouth that she was surprised. They both stopped and stared at each other; they were now standing on a narrow strip of rusty, metallic walkway; the path ahead snaked its way between crumbling buildings and disappeared into the bright yellow mist.

Xihan smiled. Mila almost smiled back... Almost. "Alright then," he said, "I think I've shown you everything around here…"

At this moment, a shifting silhouette in the distance caught the corner of Mila's eye… A lone shadow was striding down the walkway. It was a man. He was wearing a lab coat and balancing a wobbly stack of books in his arms.

"And remember, the cafeteria's right down the path- Hey, where are you going?"

For Mila had taken off at a run, eyes fixed on the man in the distance. Vector. Her hair whipped backward in the wind as she sprinted; Xihan's yells were muted by the sound of her resonating footsteps. The girl couldn't listen, couldn't see or focus on anything other than that man. This stranger who held the answers to the questions that she needed to solve. She skidded to a halt behind the scientist; "YOU!" She shouted harshly. She lay a hand on Vector's shoulder to stop him and pulled him a step backward.

The man stumbled off-balance; books flapped through the air like makeshift birds that plummeted to the ground within seconds of achieving flight. Vector spun around to face her, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What on Skyland?..."

"Oh… Sorry, sorry…" Mila muttered, catching her breath. She focused. The books organized themselves into a neat stack in the air which dropped cleanly into Vector's outstretched arms.

The man recognized her now and he gave a hesitant smile. "That's quite all right, you startled me."

There ensued a faltering silence punctured by the sound of footsteps as Xihan arrived next to them, panting. After a few seconds, he straightened up, black hair windswept.

"Everything okay?" He asked, looking between the two.

Vector spoke first; "Everything's fine. Mila and I have matters to discuss."

"All right…" Xihan muttered confusingly as he walked away, "See you guys later."

Mila looked at Vector with surprise. "We need to talk…"

Vector nodded tiredly. "Follow me."

* * *

><p>Mila sat in a tattered armchair in a large room. The brick walls were plastered with sun-bleached papers that had become curled and dried with the years, like a layer of dead leaves on dry asphalt. The window sills were lined with jars of pencils, crayons and brushes. And array of old canvases and easels covered the walls in the back of the room. This had evidently been some type of artistic studio which had fallen into neglect along with the forgotten city.<p>

A large desk stood out in the middle of the messy room; it was cluttered with books, stacks of papers and a computer, glowing and flashing as codes and numbers filed down its screen. The desk obviously belonged to Vector - the rest of the studio must have been owned by some long forgotten artist.

The dull scratching of a small radio sent whispers through the air as a Sphere news station relayed the latest happenings.

Vector was walking about; moving a stack of papers there, flittering through the pages of a thick volume here, eyes blank with concentration. This room, Mila guessed, was his study. There was a small coffee table beside her seat; a dog-eared sketch pad was sprawled open on the wooden surface, gleaming under a film of dust. Mila flipped a page.

The papers were yellowed and pale with age but Mila could make out the fine outlines of a pencil drawing – the sketch of a calm, cool expanse of water. It was a small sunlit pond which glimmered in the dappled light of the forest. Small lily pads coasted calmly on the glassy surface. The mucky edges of the pond were crisscrossed by strands of tall grasses which nearly swayed in the invisible breeze. Mila could almost see the tiny dragonflies moving, she could almost imagine the smell of wet grass and muddy shore.

The image made her feel thirstier than ever, but she couldn't peel her eyes away. It was sad to think that such places no longer existed in the natural world. How could people have let the world fall apart – why hadn't they taken action sooner to prevent the cataclysm which was the break-up of planet earth? Mila didn't understand.

"I suppose you have a lot of questions for me." Vector started, his voice dragging her back to reality. He was sitting behind his desk now, having finished organizing his stack of leather-bound volumes which Mila had helped him carry all the way to this building.

"Yes." She said. "Why do you know me? And why don't I know you?"

"Oh dear," Vector sighed. "I must admit something… I don't _actually_ know you either…" When Mila looked confused, Vector ran his fingers through his greying hair and he laughed. "It's a very long story."

"And I've got all the time in the world." She responded.

"Yes, well," he laughed again, "I suppose I'll start from the very beginning."

"It all began several years ago… No it was eight years ago - Or was it nine years?" He shook his head, muttering something about time flying by so quickly. "I was an aspiring scientist at the time, travelling alone, looking for employment… But times were difficult. People were _still_ scrambling around in the rubble, trying to salvage what was left of their towns or cities - trying to survive. It was terrible. _Terrible_…"

He looked up, "As you know, the Sphere was the only form of government left in that time; it had been gradually taking over through the years - the Sphere itself was initially formed by the countries which would slowly fade away, leaving it the organization in charge of the whole planet. People turned towards the Sphere for support. No one thought badly of it I'm sure, except perhaps the bandits that had profited through all the mayhem. I approved of the Sphere taking control. It was necessary, someone had to bring order. Chaos had reigned for too long a time. So… Where was I? Ah yes, I had been travelling around the globe for quite some time. One day - several years ago - I arrived at Ningxia province and decided to pay my old friend Zalo a visit."

"Zalo?" Mila asked. "Hailong Zalo, dignitary for Ningxia?" She had learned about the different dignitaries in charge of sectors across Skyland.

"Precisely. Yes, Zalo and I have known each other for a long time."

Mila blinked confusedly. How did she fit into all this?

"I arrived at the monastery - you can imagine my surprise when I noticed a small girl running through the courtyard."

It took several seconds for it to sink in.

"M-Me?" Mila stuttered, eyes wide.

Vector nodded. "Zalo was a Sphere dignitary in those years, he represented Ningxia province of course, but he was also an ambassador for the Sphere."

It was true that Ningxia province had always been allied with the Sphere; the two shared a sort of mutual respect. The province was powerful and the Sphere knew this, starting a war over the mineral-rich region was pointless; humans had nearly been wiped off the earth in the first place. Instead, the two held an alliance.

"Hailong explained that the Sphere had entrusted him with a great responsibility - that of looking over a seijin child", Vector bowed his head, "until the child was old enough to join the Academy of course. Seijin children only joined the Academy at the minimal ages of nine or ten… and the Sphere thought you too valuable to put in an orphanage."

"How long did I stay there?" Mila asked, eyes aglow. She was sitting on the edge of her seat now, gripping the armrests, mouth open with awe.

"You lived there for a few months. Sphere officials tried to transfer you somewhere else not so long before my arrival. You had refused apparently. Zalo found you hiding in one of the ships in the monastery's docks. Like a 'little stowaway' he said. He convinced the officials to let you stay at the monastery in the end. What was the harm in letting you stay if you were to be transferred to the Academy in a few months' time?"

"But, why were they taking me away?" Mila asked, smile faltering. If she had found a temporary home, then why would they transfer her somewhere else?

"The Sphere, I later acknowledged, had many tactics for young seijins who were to be future guardians. By making you live from one place to another, never more than a few months at a time, you would not become attached to anyone. So the transition to the Academy would not come as a shock. Also, the Academy would become your first stable home; a place of comfort, familiarity."

"That's horrible." Mila spat, leaning back.

"I agree…" Vector paused. "So you see, I never knew you personally, simply by name. I stayed only in Ningxia for a day and took off on my travels again. Eventually, I settled in a small city and continued working on my projects, taking jobs here and there. By now, I had travelled all over the globe."

His hand brushed against large ruled sheets of papers on his desk, which depicted different areas of Skyland covered in coordinates and equations. Maps...

Suddenly, his expression darkened.

"Something happened. One day, a Sphere official approached me with a job offer; a glorious career as a Sphere scientist. They had learned of my experiments with light you see, and were fairly interested. We don't know exactly what it is in sunlight that triggers seijin powers – why, to this day, it is still a mystery…" Vector waited. "But I respectfully declined the offer. Yes, I had been looking for such an employment opportunity for a long time, but by now, the Sphere's corruption was becoming evident. Unfortunately, they wouldn't take 'no' for an answer… The next time an agent approached me, it was with a threat. Naturally, I took off in the middle of the night, leaving an empty apartment behind. The months passed - I found myself once more close to the reaches of Ningxia. When I arrived at the monastery however, it was to find a tired-looking Zalo and newly strained relations between Ningxia province and the Sphere. You were gone. The Sphere had taken you to the Academy while Zalo was out. He never had a chance to say goodbye. Of course he was furious, but he wisely decided to do nothing - he had to remain impersonal. You were already gone, there was nothing to be done – it had been your own decision after all. The alliance of peace between Sphere and Ningxia had to be kept in good condition; the safety of his people came first and the Sphere's influence was already growing dangerously."

"I remember," Mila whispered, "I remember leaving for the Academy. I just thought it was the right thing to do. The opportunity for higher education, I couldn't let that pass me by…" and Mila didn't think the Sphere would have relented had she refused to go there in the first place. "But I don't remember Zalo…" She admitted sadly.

"I think he never forgot about you Mila. He loved you I'm sure, like a father would love a daughter."

Mila smiled. The thought of someone out there, almost like a parent, was such a comforting thought that it felt as if her heart had expanded inside her chest.

"Meanwhile, I was off again, travelling… After a year or two, my luck finally ran out. They found me. I lived with the Sphere for several months; it was _dreadful_. Cameras around my house, can you believe it? Preposterous! I was under constant surveillance. The Sphere demanded that I complete my experiments on replicating sunlight. I couldn't work under such stressful conditions! I tried to explain that the seemingly magical formula to seijin energy was nearly impossible to find... They wanted no excuses. No, this time, I found that my life was threatened. Some time later, a prototype light panel was built and ready to be tested – or so they thought. For I knew that my panels were useless, and perhaps I hadn't exactly given them my full attention. You see, I wanted no part in helping the Sphere anymore… Soon after, they found the perfect test-subjects-"

"Students from the Academy." Mila finished for him.

"Yes."

"But we were children." Mila said quietly, "Why would they use us?"

"You were amongst the youngest at the Academy. They couldn't risk older students, if something went awry with the experiment, they'd have wasted years of training on these people. To take the youngest was more favourable, and children, they believed, were less likely to suspect anything was wrong."

"It's awful. I can't believe I- I didn't realise..."

"Oh but of course the Sphere cared for its young seijins! Their lives were of the utmost importance – they represented the future of the organization after all. And I assured them nothing would go wrong – I knew of course that the lights were weak models, barely more than gleaming scraps of metal."

It was true; the lights hadn't worked properly in her memory. Their sustenance in light had been feeble, not nearly enough to recharge her powers. Perhaps if such a thing could work, the seijin would need to be exposed to the light for an extended period of time - but who would take the time to do such a thing? It seemed ridiculous and unnatural...

"I met you that day." Mila said, "You were the scientist, in the gymnasium. You told me about the docking bay."

"Ah yes… I figured you deserved a chance for escape. However, you looked happy there-"

"I was happy." She conceded. "But I'm glad you mentioned the docking bay, you helped me escape the Academy with Marcus."

Mila explained everything that had happened at the Academy and how it all linked together. How, because of his instructions, she had found the docking bay. Mila didn't want to imagine what would have happened had she not kept this valuable piece of information in memory; she had been so disoriented, waking up in that dark cell. The story took quite a while to recount. When she was finished, Vector sat there in astonishment.

"Why… I had no idea that…"

"Thank you." Mila cut in.

"You're welcome… I suppose…"

"So what happened next? How did you leave the Academy?" She asked.

"It wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated - I simply flashed my identification card wherever I went. No one wanted to contradict a Sphere scientist I suppose. I left for a well deserved vacation – and didn't return."

"Then you joined the rebels."

"Eventually, I decided to do so… The resistance needed scientific minds too. And I changed my name for good measure, in case the Sphere ever heard of me again."

So Vector wasn't his real name? It made sense, some rebels even referred to him as 'the' Vector. It was more like a pseudonym.

"What's your real name?" Mila asked and Vector winked humorously. "Is it…Vincent?"

Vector's face fell.

"N-No! I mean, er no…" He laughed nervously, tugging at his collar, "Of course that's not my name..."

Mila tried to wipe the smile off her face; she couldn't help being a seijin after all. "Do you like being in the resistance?" She asked casually, trying to switch subjects.

"At least I can pursue my work in peace here. Somewhat." He sighed. "And what do you think so far?"

"About what? The rebels?" Mila gave a disinterested shrug. "I don't know."

"It must be difficult to make the transition from one extreme to the other."

"Yes!" Mila exclaimed. "I lived my whole life with the Sphere… At least as long as I can remember."

Vector nodded tiredly. "You're not the first or last soul to be fooled by the Sphere I'm afraid. They're very convincing." He said. "And I don't personally think the Sphere has always been a nuisance. It has simply lost sight of its main objectives for Skyland. Corrupted by the leaders. It isn't about peace anymore. It's about world domination. You see, if you control the water supply, you control everything and everyone."

"Even if they could spare the water," Mila continued, thinking of the large swimming pools at the Academy, "They wouldn't."

"Exactly."

Mila exhaled noisily, feeling a little lost.

"I'm sure everything will turn out fine." Vector added, as if reading her thoughts, "You know, rebels aren't bad people. They're simply angry." He leaned forward, casting a conspiratorial glance in her direction. "And perhaps you _are_ safer hiding here with the pirates."

Mila knew of course that she could take care of herself, but the idea of the Sphere lurking around every corner _was_ worrisome. Just then, a forgotten thought glowed, like a flash of lightning. "My parents!" She yelled abruptly, "Do you know anything about them?"

Vector looked away.

"Please, Vector… do you know where they are?"

"I'm not sure I should be the one telling you this…"

"Telling me what?" She asked.

"Zalo was informed by the Sphere officials who brought you to the monastery that…" His voice trailed off for a moment, "I'm afraid your parents passed away when you were one. Their cause of death is unknown."

A deep silence darkened the room. "Oh..." Mila breathed.

"I'm so sorry." Vector said, eyes fixed on the desk.

"No. It's okay… I'm fine." It was almost true. Mila felt a strange feeling of emptiness but nothing more – perhaps she was too bewildered at the moment. After all, she thought angrily, why should she miss people she didn't even remember?

The dull scratching of the radio echoed in the silence. Something in the quiet words of a Sphere reported stood out and Mila tensed. The girl scrambled to her feet suddenly, reached forward and turned a dial on the small radio. The Sphere channel was clear now, the strong voice of a reporter ringing in her ears. Mila. They had mentioned her name. She clutched the radio in her hands, eyes wide as she listened to the broadcast.

"… the seijin is responsible for the brutal murder of a young guardian by the name of Priscilla-"

Vector listened too, face blank with confusion.

"… she is an accomplice to criminal Marcus Farrell... Wanted dead or alive for treason against the Sphere-"

The radio clattered onto the desk.

"Oh my!" Vector gasped, "Mila what-"

He looked up but it was too late. Mila was already gone, the entrance door swinging in the void.

* * *

><p><strong>AN **_Filling in all the gaps was arduous work! _

_Sadly, Mila's parents died when she was one - it said so in every Skyland timeline I found. I took most of the information on Mila's past from the episode 'The Great Wall'. I want the story to fit into Skyland as perfectly as possible._

_The scientist Xihan mentioned; obviously Tibald (Cheng's grandfather). I tried to clarify his position with the rebels: the series was very unclear about him... and the Skyland timeline for that matter. I gathered all the information I could find and created a logical timeline with it that fits all episode backgrounds. _

_I hope you liked it! Keep reading, the story's not over yet!_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N** **I don't own Skyland. **

**I apologize for the delay! The next chapter is 99% complete and will be posted very soon (it's going to be a small chapter).**

* * *

><p>Mila staggered for balance as her feet slammed into the ground. Slowly, the blue haze of seijin energy blazing around her figure faded as she regained coordination and took in her surroundings. She was standing in a forest, or at the very least, was used to be a park. Except, the scenery wasn't the lush evergreen it should have been; it was grey. Dead, leafless trees twisted out of the brittle grass in every direction. Lumps of rocky debris lay scattered across the place, like forgotten tombstones. Overhead, between the thin dark branches, the bright golden glare of the sky shone on. Mila smiled and made her way towards the brightness.<p>

Navigating through the snapping branches and prickly thorns did earn her quite a few cuts and scratches, but it was worth it. The seijin finally emerged from the trees and arrived to the edge of the small block. She stopped; her breath was whisked away, not by the winds, but by the amazing sight. From her elevated position, Mila had a terrific view of the main city area which stretched more than a hundred meters below, unfolding like the remains of an ancient map.

The seijin gazed over the landscape of splintered earth and sky, hands on her hips. She couldn't peel her eyes away from it all, this sight of decaying city against open sky. It was so incongruous, so odd in contrast to the perfect Sphere cities. And yet, she had travelled all the way up here to observe it, hadn't she? What was she looking for? A glimmer of brightness in the distance, a patch of blue sky? No, she wanted to see the world. See the entirety of Skyland detailed across a spherical map and try to understand how a prophecy could have ever sparked the ideas they had for her.

Abruptly, the flash of a distant vessel caught her attention. Mila could see a speck soaring through the sky now, but it was too far away to distinguish. The pirates were probably taking off for yet another mission. Soon, she lost sight of the sleek ship through a haze of cloudy air.

Mila swept her braided hair behind her shoulders and walked towards a rocky outcrop. She sat down, lounging in the meagre sunlight. The ex-guardian had been out exploring all morning. She'd done a lot of exploring lately; she didn't have much else to do after all. The pirates hadn't assigned her a schedule yet; she wondered if the rebels even used such a thing as schedules. Probably not. Mila was still getting used to living without a pre-planned route. She loved the freedom of course, but not having anything to do was all too boring; the excitement of the previous two weeks had been so intense that she now felt slightly disoriented by the calm.

Such a deep calm could easily let her mind wander; it could ignite a rushing surge of emotions. No. Mila wouldn't let that happen. And so, she would go out to explore; she would distance herself from the resistance quarter of the city and wander aimlessly into the unknown. She was very cautious of course, for the paths were precarious; she sometimes had to levitate herself from one point to another. But she enjoyed walking without specific purpose; it was another luxury she hadn't experienced with the Sphere. The pirates would never look for her though - all ships were accounted for and she couldn't fly away. In fact, if she was crushed to death by a tumbling block of cement, she would probably be doing everyone a favour.

Mila sighed. She truly wanted to be part of the rebels but not like this; not if she was considered an outsider by everyone. Mila had the drive, the anger and the _right_ to join the resistance but she was branded by a past she couldn't escape; the rebels didn't accept her yet.

Mila cringed under a sudden freezing breeze that ruffled her bright new clothes. Well not _new_, they were most certainly second-hand clothes. They were a little baggy and the fabric was worn out, the sleeves frayed at the edges. The rebels had handed her a new outfit two days ago; she distinctly remembered the outlaws muttering something about 'tracking devices'. The ex-guardian hadn't been very fond of the blue sphere uniform in the first place; Oslo had given it to her after all. She seriously doubted that her sphere uniform could have held any tracers but the rebels wouldn't have taken her word for it anyways. They were a cautious bunch; and for good reason.

It was probably best to throw away any reminder of her life with the Sphere though; these new clothes would help her fit in - or at least attract her less negative attention. Actually, Mila found enjoyment in wearing such vibrant articles of clothing after all. Her long-sleeved shirt was of a vivid red. She loved how unashamedly colourful it all was. She also wore dark brown cargo pants which dangled with many cumbersome buckles and straps; one bulky strap was obviously made to carry weaponry but, _of course_, she wasn't allowed a gun.

That didn't matter, she was a seijin – she didn't really need a gun. In fact, she could have wiped everyone off the block had she chosen to do so. She could already have escaped.

_No. That's a cruel thought. _She told herself, _I don't want to be cruel._

It was unfortunate, but an innate sense of superiority often clawed out of hiding. She absolutely _hated_ it. Would the Sphere have forever tarnished her soul? No, it couldn't be so. Besides, Mila didn't consider herself a bad person - she was simply angry at the moment, frustrated against the whole situation.

Yes, she was a seijin but she was a _person_ first, a person with as much of depth and dimension as anyone else. Mila didn't appreciate the dark looks cast by rebels as she walked by. She didn't like not knowing why Marcus had brought her along or why he wouldn't show himself. She despised feeling trapped. Most of all, Mila hated that her parents were dead.

Dead. Gone. People without faces, without names, without any link to life. If she could just see them once, even for a millisecond, then perhaps she could find peace.

But that was impossible. She was furious, so _so_ angry with herself that she had not once during her Academy years spared even one thought for her parents...

Abruptly, Mila stood up, turned away from the edge of the block and walked speedily through knee-high yellow grass; the city faded from sight as she made her way through the remnants of the old park. Mila had remembered seeing this same forested block above a large square when she had first arrived here in the Hyperion. Curious, she had returned to take a closer look. Giving herself a boost with her powers, she had rocketed upwards and begun combing through the small floating remains of a large park centered above the main city area.

Mila stopped dead in her tracks for a moment as a few crackles and snaps echoed in the distance. A strange tingle went up her spine. She thought of the ship she had glimpsed a few minutes ago. The vessel's aerodynamic shape had allowed it to slice through the air with such ease - its flight patterns had been noticeable, even from that distance. But no, she was letting her imagination run wild. Mila shook her head and carried on. The noise had simply been that of falling branches... Yes, that was it.

The ex-guardian continued trudging through the bleached-white trees that grasped and scratched at the winds. She walked, on and on, distancing herself from the memories that would catch up with her when she stopped-

_Snap!_

Mila froze, circled by trees and sky. She certainly hadn't imagined _this_ noise; there was a presence, something else hovering close by. Eyes wide, she turned around.

A moving shadow darted through the branches.

Mila flinched away with a gasp and looked up. There was a crow in the tree above, black feathers ruffled. The bird observed her curiously, head angled to the side, beak glinting.

She laughed with relief. She had been scared by a bird, a stupid _bird_.

Her smile faltered suddenly as another crackling sound echoed, but this time, it was directly behind her. Mila once again jumped aside, colliding with the tree as she did so.

The crow screeched. It flapped crazily to regain balance in the swinging branches. And then, without warning, it swooped towards her.

The girl yelped, tripping against a gnarled root and falling to the ground; a breeze ruffled her hair as the bird's talons skimmed the surface of her head. Mila rolled out of the way, just as the bird came swooping back. She scrambled backwards, hands glowing; quickly, she lifted her arm and launched a small spark of energy towards the creature.

_Zap!_

The bird emitted a weak croak, looped around and took off, flapping awkwardly with its now smoking wings.

Mila sat in the dirt for a second, face red with indignation. She cursed angrily as she got up, brushing at her clothes, picking the grass out of her hair.

A soft laugh smoothed over the stillness. "Do all animals hate you or?..."

The seijin froze on the spot, heart glazing over with ice. She knew that voice very well and she groaned inwardly. After several seconds of mental deliberation, Mila finally decided to face him.

The young man was lost in the shade, leaning against a tree. He was tall and lean, his dark hair was rather tousled despite his obvious attempts to smooth it down. He was wearing a black jacket, brown cargo pants and a pair of heavy boots. The dark bruises that had marked his face a week before were now fading, barely visible; his skin had found its normal healthy shade too. The boy's eyes were as deep as ever, colours shifting in and out.

Marcus.

Mila looked emotionless, or so she hoped as she forced a straight face. A small spark of relief simmered inside all the same as she saw him there, looking well and bright. She gulped the feeling away immediately and anger rushed back, like a wave of scorching lava.

"Hey, Mila." Marcus said.

A strained pause lingered.

He cleared his throat, "Look, I hope we can talk-" ¸

His voice faded. Already, the girl had turned away and was walking off at a brisk pace. The pirate looked momentarily shocked, but he composed himself quickly and took off in pursuit.

"Mila," He said. "Wait."

"Go away." She snapped.

"Just wait a minute. I want to talk to you."

"I'm not interested." She snarled.

"You don't even have to say anything!" He argued, "I just need to explain-"

"Explain what?" She demanded, spinning around. "Explain why you brought me here without my permission? Explain why they locked me up?"

"I didn't bring you here to imprison you…" He said, "I'm sorry that happened-"

Mila turned away once more, striding faster, heart searing with anger. She didn't want to hear excuses. Marcus had been avoiding her for five days now and suddenly, he had decided to turn up again, just like that? She didn't understand his motives and she didn't like it.

"Just go!" She yelled, "Leave me alone."

"Hear me out." He insisted.

Mila was nearly jogging now, hearing his steps quicken to match hers. Marcus was rapid; he could have caught up with her already, but he maintained a decidedly reasonable distance between them. The girl darted ahead, taking refuge behind a twisted tree trunk. He arrived on the other side, leaning forward to catch a glimpse of her face.

"I swear I didn't mean for any of this to happen." He muttered, circling the tree, feet crunching noisily against the dry grass.

They paused, looking at each other between the sinews of white wood. Marcus looked like he was holding back a laugh. Mila glared, she didn't understand the smirk on his face. This wasn't funny.

He drifted out of sight quickly as he ducked sideways to catch her. Mila had already anticipated this. She was a step ahead as she swerved into the other direction.

"Mila!" He called exasperatingly, "Would you just stop running off?"

Mila stopped, glaring back at him. "Me running off?" She laughed sardonically, "Don't you dare turn this against me. You're the one who kept secrets! And you've been avoiding me ever since we got here."

Marcus leaned against the tree, peeling at the rough wood. "Alright," He sighed, "Maybe I have been avoiding you." He blanched; "But only because I knew you wouldn't want to see me."

"I didn't want to see you." She said. "You left me in the dark; you didn't tell me where we were heading!"

"I know."

"Then why? Why didn't you tell me Marcus?"

He was silent, jaw clenched.

Mila shook her head and turned away again, feet pounding on the rocky grass.

_Crumble! _

_Crack!_

Mila stopped, glancing at the stony soil beneath her feet. The ground was shifting, trembling. A freezing sensation spread through her body as she realised that the soil was seeping away. It all happened very quickly; she lost balance as a sink hole to clear sky appeared within a tangle of dry roots and seeping dirt. Mila yelped, heart plummeting as she sunk downward, left foot wedged under a tangled mess of coarse tree roots. She clawed into the coarse grass, scratched at the soil in a crazed attempt to soften her fall.

"Watch out!" Marcus yelled.

She felt his arm wrap around her waist as he dragged her out. Mila kicked and struggled and her boot snapped free from the web of rocks and roots. This abrupt release sent them both reeling backwards and falling over. The sink hole collapsed and dirt fell into open sky, toward the sprawl of buildings spread out so far below.

Mila coughed as she lay in the dirt; she pushed herself up slightly and leaned back against Marcus as she tried to distance herself from the fissure. Marcus sat upright and brushed the dust out of his hair.

"That was close." He mentioned casually, almost into her ear.

Mila agreed, staring at the now gaping hole of sky in the middle of the grass. She was rather thankful that Marcus had pulled her out. She could have used her powers to levitate herself to safety of course, but she was glad that she hadn't been forced to experience such an unexpected fall. This place was unstable and dangerous; the ground was just as brittle as the grass and trees.

"Better keep an eye out…" Marcus advised as he helped her up, his arm still linked around her waist.

Mila snapped back to reality in a second and her mouth tightened shut with anger. Marcus met her glare. He pushed her off and they scrambled away from each other hastily. They now stood two metres apart, eyes connected in silence.

"Why did you come? And how did you find me?" She demanded impatiently.

"I came here to talk. And I saw you take off for those blocks. So I got the ship and flew back here." He glanced behind him, as if imagining the gleaming hull of the Hyperion somewhere on the other side of the grey forest.

Mila frowned. How did he see her rocketing to those splinters of block? Yes, she had probably been a flaming blue speck to anyone in the distance but what were the chances that he had seen her just then? Had he been trying to find her all day?

"Hyperion's all fixed now see, no more problems…" He trailed off at the disinterested look on her face. "I'd like to hear your side of the story. You never really got the chance to explain anything. I probably said things I shouldn't have-"

"You called me 'mentally unbalanced'." Mila recalled.

He smiled slightly, as if it was _funny_. Mila looked like she was about to take off again, so he swallowed, smile disappearing. "I didn't mean it, I swear."

"So, what do you want exactly?" She asked.

"You can recount your side of the story. And I'll listen this time."

"It won't change anything Marcus."

"Look Mila... I brought you along without telling you because I realized that it didn't make much sense if you had risked your life once to save mine, only to take me back to the Sphere again…" He paused. "I knew you were angry with me. Knew you wouldn't want to come along anymore, because of the things I'd said…" He stopped, breathed and when he spoke it was in a tired sigh. "I was scared."

"Scared?" Mila asked confusedly.

"I knew it was risky, dropping you off on a neutral block. Alone. It's not easy to start a new life by yourself, invent a new identity…"

"You don't think I can handle life by myself?"

"I _know_ you can. It's the Sphere I was worried about… Mila, I worried that the Sphere – if they caught you and– and if they _hurt_ you…" He swallowed. "I still didn't know who or what to believe about what had happened… But I also knew that I wanted to keep you safe. I tried to protect you."

Mila felt her heart unfreeze slightly but the harsh words came out all the same; "I don't need your protection."

Marcus looked downward, kicking absent-mindedly at the dirt.

"They locked me up." She reminded him spitefully.

"I didn't know." He argued, "When I found out where you were-" He clenched his fists for a second. "I thought they'd help you."

"They helped me." She confessed, right hand brushing against the healing cut on her left arm. "But I was stuck in that room for nearly two days!"

"I wanted to release you, but the others…" He seemed ashamed now, "They lost faith in me I guess. We agreed to vote."

"You defended me during that vote." Mila evoked, "How could you defend me without knowing that I was even innocent in the first place?"

He shrugged.

Mila sighed. She didn't understand. Why would he want to listen to her side of the story now? Why would he believe her this time? Admittedly, she was sick and tired of the doubt separating them. Mila wanted to put an end to it, but she had no solid proof; she had nothing but her memories…

_Her memories_…

"Will you trust that I'm telling the truth this time?" She asked.

He nodded, avoiding her eyes.

He was torn, she realised. Torn between responsibilities as rebel leader and being her friend. Their journey had linked them in a strange way however, and she didn't know if such a connection could be broken. Wouldn't it be better to try and repair the bond that they shared instead of leaving a stringy, rusted link that would only serve as a union of doubt and guilt?

Even so, it was difficult to gather the courage for what she was about to do. Did she have the strength to show him her memories? She was a seijin after all; she had often linked telepathically with other people. Telepathy was difficult though, it was hard to make sense of all the hazy memories in the mind and to convey them into viewable image form. Mila would have to show him all her memories, starting from the very beginning, in the bright auditorium of the Academy. There would be no more secrets. At long last, Marcus would see the trail of blue energy leaving a path for the Sphere.

"I have a solution." Mila stated decidedly. "I can show you my memories." At any rate, she figured it would be less tiresome than recounting _everything_. Marcus deserved to know the truth and she wanted no more secrets to divide them.

"You can do that?" Marcus asked.

"Sure."

He frowned. "I'm not a seijin."

"It doesn't matter. They're _my_ memories."

He nodded in a confused way.

"Maybe we should sit down somewhere…" She offered.

Marcus looked around. A slab of grey stone jutted out of the ground a distance away; they made their way towards it, stepping carefully across the dry grass. Then they sat together on the smooth rock surface.

Mila reached out and took his hand, feeling rather odd. "I'm going to organize my thoughts."

"Alright..." Marcus agreed, voice laden with doubt.

"Okay." She sighed impatiently. She closed her eyes and focused. Marcus watched her curiously for a second; then he shrugged and closed his eyes too.

The mind was a complicated thing. It must have taken her a minute or two to organize her memories in a sort of hazy timeline. Finally, she let the memories float away. The grip she had on Marcus's hand provided an anchor to real life; she wasn't alone in reviewing the memories now.

The seijin had to relive everything. The pool of blood of the stage floor. Her initial weeks of guardian life. Being assigned her first mission with Oslo, heart swelling with pride. Meeting Marcus. The bright sunny days of Babylonia; those days that seemed to slow and stretch longer than she would have preferred, accompanied with feelings that she couldn't hide. Feelings that were attached to the memory itself.

Once in a while Marcus would flinch or let out a simple; "What the hell?" In which case, Mila would force herself to gulp down a laugh.

The curtain of memories discoloured and faded after the escape from the Academy. Marcus knew the rest. Mila let the remaining strand of memory spiral away before releasing his hand. She drew a shaky breath and waited a few seconds; when she opened her eyes, the world seemed painfully detailed and bright.

Marcus was still sitting next to her. He had a hand over his eyes.

Mila waited. He was letting everything sink in. He'd just seen one of the rebels shot by a brigadier, the corpse lying in a gruesome pool of blood. He'd also learned how Oslo had managed to find them. Her heart shrivelled at the thought. He would hate her.

When Marcus finally spoke, Mila felt frozen with surprise. "I'm sorry." He said.

"What?" She asked blankly.

"I shouldn't have blamed you for everything-"

"Marcus, don't you understand?" She started angrily. Furious with him, with herself. "It was _my_ fault! I left a trail of seijin energy after that storm…"

"What are you talking about?" Marcus demanded roughly. "You were trying to stabilize the Hyperion. If anything, it was my fault for deciding to hide in that storm cloud in the first place."

"Only because I told you not to shoot the S-15's out of the sky." Mila argued. She knew that Marcus could have blasted the ships into oblivion on that fateful misty morning. He had refrained from doing this however, because she had insisted that her friend, Oslo, was in one of the patrollers.

"Oh, come on…" Marcus groaned. "We'll go on forever using that logic!"

Mila crossed her arms, staring at the ground.

"Actually," He considered slyly, "If anything, this is all Oliver's fault isn't it? Just blame him."

"Oliver?..." She smirked. "His name's Oslo."

"Yeah, whatever." He dismissed unimportantly. "The point is, it was _his_ fault... He dragged you back to the Sphere. You didn't want to go back."

It was strange how he could analyze her emotions and memories, judge them, convey an opinion. It was a statement. A truthfulness that made her feel less wretched. He was defending her again. There was no point in trying to understand; when Marcus formed an opinion or an idea, he worked at it. He was all action and no subtlety.

It was this impulse to expose the truth that made him a rebel. It was instinctive.

Maybe she was instinctive too. She hoped so. Hadn't she impulsively left the Sphere? It was an admirable idea; that she could have held onto her humanity through it all. Calculations, statistics, probabilities; emotions existed not within the Sphere. Out here they did. In the real world, they made all the difference.

"I would feel better blaming someone else." She mused, abandoning everything for a golden moment.

"Problem solved." He said, smiling now that he had seen her smile.

She sighed. "I wish it were that easy."

Marcus's grin faded. "Look, I'm sorry I ever doubted you Mila..."

"It was complicated." She groaned, imagining his point of view. Now that she thought about it, everything about this whirlwind of an adventure had been complicated. "And I'm sorry too."

He smiled and bowed his head slightly. "Hey, we're pirates. It's not exactly a danger-free profession." Here he laughed carelessly. "I still can't believe it."

"What?"

"We doubted each other the whole time-"

"But we never betrayed one another." Mila finished.

They laughed and soon, they couldn't stop. They laughed until they were doubled over, gasping for breath.

After that, they talked for a long while as they reviewed the memories together, hiccupping small surviving laughs from time to time. It took several minutes, but they finally quietened down and Mila found herself reliving the boy's murder again. She couldn't understand this inherent need to talk about it; perhaps voicing everything helped, gave her the occasion to defend her despicable behaviour. Marcus grew serious as she explained how guilt had plagued her mind because of her inactivity on graduation day, when she had allowed a terrible murder to take place. It was a calm affair; the pirate became quieter when he spoke of death but otherwise seemed unperturbed. Mila supposed the rebels had grown used to casualties.

Their conversation stretched for a long period of time, but she appreciated the serene tone of their discussion, because it was just that; a discussion. Mila also expressed how this horrifying event had undeniably changed her entire outlook on life. It was this that had caused her loyalty to the Sphere to waver. Somehow, she had released the Prophecy back then; becoming the Lady of light had no longer seemed important; she didn't deserve that title and she would never earn it. Not for selfish reasons. She had been overconfident, smug and arrogant and she never wanted to use her powers for greed. Skyland belonged to no one.

"Did you ever hear about the Prophecy?" She asked him curiously.

Marcus shifted. "Sure. Everyone's heard of it." He frowned, staring at her, "Why? Do you still believe it?"

"I don't know what to think anymore… What about you?"

He shrugged.

"Oslo and I… (When Mila spoke the name, Marcus tensed as if angered by the sound of it) We thought we could actually fulfill that prophecy one day. We were horrible."

"Are you telling me that you actually wanted to rule the world?"

Mila nodded dejectedly.

Marcus burst out with laughter.

"It's not funny!" She exclaimed, slapping his shoulder.

"R-Rule the world…" He chuckled, "How can you possibly _rule the world_?"

"Not 'ruling' the world as much as unifying it." Mila grunted, blushing a little.

Marcus's laughter eased and he leaned back thoughtfully. "'Unifying' is a better word."

"You're right, that's what the prophecy says actually…" She frowned. "Oslo, he always thought it meant to rule but I think... I think we had it all wrong."

"If the Prophecy _is_ real, don't you think it will fulfill itself when the time is right, with the right people? You can't just wake up one morning and decide that you're the 'one'-"

"Yes _thank you_, I know…" She sighed impatiently before reciting; "He will unify earth thanks to the Lady of light."

Her words drifted away, through the trees, into the winds.

She and Oslo had been young. Lost orphans finding comfort in the fantastic nature of the Prophecy, that's all. Mila still remembered the countless hours they had lost plotting about it. Dreaming without limits. Perhaps, Mila reflected, dreams could be dangerous after all. But they were adults now; Oslo would surely release the Prophecy too; it was unhealthy to obsess about such things.

"I still can't forget..." Mila shook her head briskly, thinking of the boy's death, "I wish it had been different…"

"You can't modify the past. You can only look toward the future and move on." He turned to her, gaze softening; "Besides, you said it yourself; you've changed. That's what made you abandon your first mission right? You could have handed me over to the Sphere. You didn't. Probably saved my life. Besides, Andy won't be forgotten. Not to those who remember." He nodded sternly, "His sister... She remembered. That's why she helped you. Told you about that skylight window."

"She was really helping _you_ Marcus, we were never friends in school." She said, "She was always a rebel I think. At heart."

The silence that followed seemed to cleanse her mind. She could breathe. But one last death hovered over her conscience now. "They're blaming me for her death. Priscilla. I heard it on a Sphere news channel; I'm a wanted murderer now."

Marcus nodded sympathetically. "Don't take it personally... According to the Sphere, I already killed twenty-three innocent people."

She cast him a quizzical look.

"I didn't kill twenty-three people... I killed forty-three. They should get their facts straight."

Mila laughed, giving him a playful nudge.

And they sat there in the grey forest that should have been a lush evergreen on a piece of block that should have been rooted to the earth. Mila now wondered if it was chance that life had progressed the way it had. It was as if a more powerful force had been at work, tweaking invisible cables to create something wonderful. That the outlaw had been Marcus and not any other pirate. That she had been the one to reach him first and not Oslo. And then, in the darkest of moments, when all hope had seemed lost, Katie had reappeared, created a chance where there hadn't been one for her brother. The escape itself now seemed a blur, but Mila knew that somewhere in her crazed adrenaline rush, Vector's advice had guided her towards freedom. And to think that she had met that same man hours later; it all seemed too extraordinary. Maybe there was something bigger than the Prophecy at work; destiny.

"Marcus," She said, "I'm glad I landed here anyways..."

"Huh, why?" He asked.

Mila explained about Vector, her forgotten childhood, and the part the scientist played in helping her escape the Academy. Marcus had never heard any of this of course, and so he listened raptly, his dark eyebrows lowered.

"I guess I owe Vector a thanks…" Marcus mentioned. "I can't believe he knows you. What are the chances?"

"It's strange, I know... Vector knew everything about my past life and- and my parents but then I found out that-"

"Wait... Your parents?" Marcus exclaimed, "That's great! Where are they? Maybe you could see them again one day-"

"No, I..." She breathed shakily, "They're dead you see."

There was a sudden silence.

"Mila," He whispered, "I'm sorry."

"No. It's alright... At least I know." She said, voice falsely optimistic. Saying it out loud had a sort of finality to it; it suddenly hit her that her parents were gone and that she would never get to see them. An unexpected upsurge of emotion hit her like a punch to the stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs, stinging her eyes.

Mila bowed her head, listening eagerly, sensing his presence. She expected him to look away but instead he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close; Mila leaned her head against his shoulder. They stayed that way for a while, not speaking, just waiting in the quietness.

"I forgot," Mila whispered after a while, "I forgot to remember that I had parents."

In fact, she knew not if her parents had been part of the Sphere. What would they think now of their daughter? Would they be proud or disappointed? She didn't know, she didn't know… And if the horrible possibility in the back of her mind was true, that the Sphere had killed her parents to recruit her... No, no. She couldn't think about it or she would surely be sick.

"You can chose to remember now." He said.

Mila didn't understand what this meant exactly, but she blinked with surprise, soaking in his thoughtful words. The gentleness with which he held her against him. The way his gaze paid careful attention to her every move.

"I don't even know what they looked like." She sighed.

He looked at her just then. It was a piercing gaze, as if he was seeing something behind her eyes. Mila expected him to say something, but he just breathed quietly and stared downward. Mila felt his arm tighten around her shoulders and his breath brush the strands of hair next to her face; somehow, the feel of him was more comforting than words.

"At the end of the day, you just have to trust yourself." He said, "That's all that really matters."

Mila shifted, dragging her sleeve against her eyes.

"Listen," He said, "I don't want you to stay here if you hate it..."

"I don't exactly have a choice." She replied, the words coming out harsher than she had meant them. She pulled away slowly and leaned back on her elbows, suddenly cold without the weight of his arm around her shoulders.

He sighed. "So, what are you saying?" He asked carefully.

"I want to be part of the resistance..." She said. "It's just..."

"You don't like feeling trapped." He finished.

She nodded jadedly.

"I could sneak you out." Marcus offered tensely. He seemed to realise the freedom with which the words had escaped his mouth because he looked downward, mouth a tight line.

"You can't do that." She retorted severely, "People will lose faith in you if you don't listen to them."

"Yeah... I guess you're right." He sighed. "But I know that once people get to know you, and realise how great you are, then everything will be fine..."

She smirked.

"I mean it." He added seriously.

He took her hand and they fell silent. In that moment, Mila knew that Marcus would never hurt her, that he cared. As she glanced at their clasped hands, she realised just how ridiculous the concept of seijin superiority had been. There was nothing more beautiful, more profound than this bond. Two people accepting each other.

"What do you hope to accomplish with the rebellion?" She asked curiously, "What happens if the Sphere does fall?"

He pondered for a while. "Democracy."

"Democracy faded with the break-up of earth."

"Then we'll just have to try again." He answered, tense with determination.

Mila nodded her head from side to side as she visualized the strangely alluring concept of a democratic society. "You know, I've learned a lot about the rebellion since I arrived here..." She started, casting him a theatrical look of reproach. "For example, the resistance has a serious lack of organization."

Marcus frowned. "I didn't think it was that disorganized... Okay, maybe the rebellion lacks structure but-"

"It's a mess." She said, somewhat enjoying his insulted expression, "Thankfully, I've acquired advanced organizational skills during my time with the Sphere."

He lifted an eyebrow. "And you'll help us?"

She let a few seconds file past. "Maybe."

He laughed. She liked to see him laugh and smile; he hadn't been this way before; when she'd first met him, he had been rather serious - but of course, they had hardly known each other then.

"I'm glad I ruined my first mission," She said seriously, "You saved me too. From becoming cruel like the rest of them."

He fell silent, the shadow of a smile still present on the edge of his lips; he frowned though, as if hit by sharp realisation. Then he leaned closer. Mila's heart jumped. She cupped his jaw, stopping him from moving forwards of pulling away.

She didn't understand how this was possible. How were they possible? Marcus had been the enemy of the Sphere, but she no longer comprehended how she could have ever hated someone she didn't know, didn't understand. Was it the impossibility of it all that Mila had found alluring in the first place?

As she looked into his dark eyes she was reminded of the warmth of Babylonia. She portrayed the sun-swept fields of swishing golden and the faraway blurs of verdant, clear leaves in her mind, letting the memory of the place ignite, spread down her arm, through her hand, escape her fingertips.

Marcus blinked rapidly as a light flashed across his eyes. "You're thinking about Babylonia?" He asked, looking slightly stunned. Mila flinched. She often thought too loudly. The fact that she was sitting so close to him, touching him, didn't exactly help either. She usually knew better than to let her thoughts and memories escape through the air but something about being next to him made her forget.

"I liked it there." She said simply.

"Yeah." He said. "Sometimes, I just think about that old brick house. Sitting alone in that field... And then, it's as if a part of them lives on, you know?"

"I know." She said, understanding now what he meant by remembering. Knowing that their parents were there somehow, unseen but close. Out of sight. She let her hand stroke down his face, brush along his shoulder and rest over his heart. "The night skies were beautiful over there." She whispered, watching him draw slowly closer.

"Yes," he agreed, gazing at her, "breathtaking."

It was as if she was back there in Babylonia, lying in the dark field, the soft grass molding the shape of her body as she watched her little patch of starry sky, framed at the edges by the lace of feathery plants. The stars had been so numerous, the universe so immense that she had felt herself melt away under the greatness of it all. What was she but a speck, a particle in that dense void of beautiful, twinkling lights.

She had been lying there for a long time, relaxing after a long day of fixing the Hyperion under the hot sun. And then Marcus had joined her. Silently, wordlessly, he had settled down next to her, a metre away. They hadn't spoken at first; not talking had been to only way to avoid heated arguments at the time. So they had watched the stars.

The silence hadn't lasted.

Soon it had begun; the endless tales of gods and creatures of ancient mythology, moving and curling together in the heavens, forming patterns and stories. The words had carried along with Marcus's voice, coated the sky, made the constellations blink to life. Move.

A guardian and a pirate. Two different people, joined by an unexpected series of events, sitting together in a field of silver. A place peppered with landmarks of an old life, of a future life. A place of refuge and peace that had both made them realise that, perhaps, they weren't so very different after all.

Their lips met and the fabric of time collapsed. Mila knew not where or when she was, she knew simply that she never wanted the moment to end. There was a grey forest. There was a starlit night. Black, green and blue.

Underneath the endless skies, Marcus had whispered; "_Look, a shooting star._"

"_Make a wish._" Mila had murmured.

He'd stared at her just then, a strange twinkle in his eye. "_I already have._"

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><p><strong>-PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!-<strong>

****The setting for this chapter ? : post-apocalypse central park.****


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N**_ I think it's safe to say that I finished this story just in time for spring. I spent the weekend at the cottage - dressed in shorts and a t-shirt next to the frozen lake! It's completely crazy. But it was fun. And, for the last time, I don't own Skyland. _

_I'm a little sad the story's over actually... I guess fanfiction is addictive like that. I won't be able to stop writing now. Skyland still has a lot of story gaps to work with though so I'll probably be back... I'd like to thank __everyone who reviewed/read my story. __Thanks to: eeniemeanie, Someonerandome, Kunaigirl, Watch2muchtv, annea101. Keep being awesome! Reviews and/or suggestions are always appreciated - Laissez un commentaire!_

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><p>The Academy was in disarray. The neatly paved streets were bustling. Shadows of rushing people coated the shiny metal walls. The slapping footsteps of passing guards echoed ominously in the cool air.<p>

This morning, the man in charge of the Academy had been found dead. Poisoned. The guards had been searching for the culprit all morning but so far their efforts had been fruitless. Of course they had a main suspect; it was a worker by the name of Katie. This same girl had failed graduation a few weeks earlier; she had always been an unstable student. Perhaps she had even been mentally ill. It was this emotional imbalance that could have easily led her to murder; and of course, she'd had the motive to commit such a crime too.

Unsurprisingly, the girl had gone missing. No one had seen her since. She had somehow managed to disappear.

Oslo watched the teeming Academy streets with contempt; he was standing aside, dressed in a pale Sphere uniform, grey eyes narrowed.

He shook his head and darted down a less crowded passage that would lead him to the docking bay. He walked briskly through the shadows, wanting nothing more than to leave this place and get on with his life.

Even as he navigated efficiently through the passages of the Sphere block, elbowing his way through groups of whispering people, he couldn't stop thinking. Memories and thoughts wouldn't stop swirling around his brain; it was becoming so overpowering that he was already getting used to randomly occurring urges to punch walls.

He gritted his teeth, trying to let the building anger ease away. It wouldn't, if anything, he was feeling more and more furious by the second. Two escapes from the Academy in the span of two weeks. He couldn't accept this. The Sphere world was losing balance; he could almost sense Skyland slowly tilting sideways, succumbing to chaos again.

The fools in charge of the Sphere would now fully understand the dangers of rebellion that were seeping through the citizens of Skyland like a horrible plague. Contaminating even those who had been loyal to the Sphere for years.

The Sphere extended its control across ninety percent of the Archipelago but Oslo wasn't satisfied. It wasn't enough. How many uncharted blocks were still drifting out there, full to the brim with natural resources? How many pirate bases were there now?

Oslo stepped out into the sunlight and walked across a vast square. He was in front of the docking bay now; the bay was buried into the side of the block and only a few stories of the building itself actually emerged from the pavement overhead. The docking bay's smooth walls lined those of the main spire-shaped building on his left.

His fury multiplied again as he glanced at the gigantic edifice and remembered everything once more. After all the anger and frustration, only one question remained. Why? Why had Mila left him like this?

He was the seijin. He was one of the most promising graduates of the Academy; he had a career. A career that he had nearly lost trying to help her. After her departure with the pirate, he'd had to endure countless dull interrogations about his failed mission. Why had Mila left with Marcus Farrell? How could she have betrayed the Sphere? How had he, Oslo, been knocked unconscious and allowed the criminal to escape? Oslo shook his head angrily. As if he needed to be reminded that the pirate had fractured his nose and given him a slight concussion. It was disgraceful.

In the end, the sphere officials had stopped badgering him with questions; they were now preoccupied with more serious problems after all. Oslo still considered himself lucky to have kept his ranking intact through this chaotic affair. He could achieve the title of Commander if he played it safe. At least he had tried to complete the Prophecy, which had always elevated to a far greater importance in his mind. Oslo had only one regret; not having killed the pirate when he'd had the chance. Instead, he had waited so that Mila could complete her mission correctly. So that they could hand over the pirate together. After all his efforts though, she had risked her life to escape with the criminal.

Oslo hated the rebel. He hated the name, Farrell; the very sound of it repulsed him. He despised the pirate, wished that he were dead.

It made no sense. It was completely illogical. Everything had been perfect; graduating from the Academy had been new beginning, and he would have been there with Mila. Just the two of them.

He still remembered the storm clearly in his mind, and how shocked he had been to see Mila inside the Hyperion with the rebel. After that raging storm, he'd managed to find the Hyperion again thanks to a glowing trail of blue; of course, he had been foolish to feel somewhat hopeful about that faded path of seijin energy. It wasn't a sign. When he finally found the Hyperion, it was to see them standing together on the hull. Pirate and guardian, holding each other close. Kissing.

There had been a sort of red blur then, clouding his vision. A blackout of rage. He barely remembered what happened afterwards, only that an argument had sparked between former best friends. Mila had refused to cooperate and then the terrible words had spilled from her mouth. Oslo had been shocked to say the least; how could she have been so unappreciative when he had simply been trying to help her? It was as if she had morphed into another person; a complete stranger. That the pirate could have tarnished her loyalties in such a limited span of time had disgusted him. Even so, he needed Mila to complete the Prophecy. He'd taken her to the Academy. Given her a new chance. He'd lied for her, telling the officials that she had been kidnapped.

But Mila had _betrayed_ him! He still couldn't believe it and he tried to ignore the pain in his chest every time he thought about it.

He had learned one lesson through all this; that it was foolish to trust anyone. He had only one thing to trust now and that was the Prophecy; the only unchanging, bright objective left. He would rise to power, no matter what, and achieve greatness and then everyone who had ever done him wrong would pay. Every last soul who had dared oppose him in the past would suffer. For Oslo had plans; great ideas that could seem extreme to others but he cared not.

He recalled the fleeting past, so many years ago in the Academy gymnasium, when a lone scientist had presented the idea of light panels to recharge seijin energy. How incredible it would be to build a functional model; a chamber of light... An invention he only would know of. A great secret. He would become the most powerful seijin in the world! Unstoppable. He could feel the adrenaline soar through his veins at the very thought of such unlimited power.

Oslo had arrived to the docking bay entrance now, and he stopped momentarily to glance back at the main Academy block, giving it one last sweeping look.

This wasn't about the Sphere. The Sphere was but a stepping stone to something greater. The Prophecy would fulfill itself; no one could escape destiny. The rebels would fall, Farrell would die. One day, he would be reunited with Mila. She would come crawling back to him, begging for forgiveness. He would be merciful. Then they would take control of Skyland. Together at last.

He laughed darkly as he turned towards the aligned sphere patrollers.

_Fools!_

This wasn't the end.

This was just the beginning.

_~ END ~_


End file.
